Damaged Goods
by Authora97
Summary: Well, time for a new identity. Her sister's been dead going on eleven months, her coworkers are being annoying, and her mother is just being a plain pain. Might as well start hunting. Part of Spencer Saga.
1. Fangirl Problems

Morgan Spencer was a lot of things.

She was still a high school student. She was almost done with her sophomore year. If things went right, Morgan would graduate valedictorian. She was proud of that.

She was a bit pretty, you could say. She had long black hair, with outrageous curls and in the preferred style of a ponytail. She had these bright amber eyes, like honey mixed with whiskey. Her skin was tan, with freckles all over. She was tall at her supposed age too, at 5'08.

She was a single mom. Her child was eight now. The girl had been adopted, raised by Morgan _'in the life'_ for almost a year now. Morgan hated bringing her daughter into it, but there was little she could do. Lilac had taken well to it.

Though she was loath to admit it, Morgan was _special._

She was in line for the crown of her people, Queen of the Travelers. A race of humans that could walk between realities, typically the fictional ones. Morgan had been to dozens of them at her age. Her people had been cut off from her for almost two hundred years.

A part of Morgan hated their people for that.

Two hundred years of thinking she had thought she was a freak. That she was a monster. That she was something _cursed_. Alone, for two hundred years, without any idea of what she was.

Then she met Darcy in one of those realities. Darcy. Snarky, slutty, _stupid_ Darcy. The sister Morgan had always wanted.

Darcy went to the Traveled life at age six, after her parents died. Morgan took he girl in, raising the girl as best she could. Darcy turned out fairly okay.

Until she died.

Eleven months ago. Or had it been two? Time worked so differently for Morgan.

It was a bit of a blur sometimes. Other times it felt fresh and achingly new.

On days like today, it felt fresh. So Morgan opted to vanish to a new reality to hide from it all.

She was sitting in her office, which she hated strictly on principle. She was sitting in a boring office chair, staring vacantly at the paperwork on her desk.

Her friend Lila, another Traveler, was in the room with her. Lila had short blonde hair, grass green eyes, and was _Padalecki brand tall_ at 5'10, while she was only 14 _._ The young girl was dressed in a yellow athletic shirt, with a purple vest, and neon green shorts.

Lila had come to recognize the _'Darcy Days'_ as other Travelers called it. Re young teen had learned it was a good idea to stay close to Morgan. You never knew when it would go from ' _Darcy Day'_ to _'Bitch Day'_.

"I'm thinking about going to _Supernatural_." She commented out of nowhere.

Lila stared at her in surprise. "What, really?" The show had seemed too...on the nose for Morgan right now.

"Yeah. I've been putting it off for awhile now." Morgan idly tossed around her unfinished paperwork onto her desk. She leaned back in her chair, pressing two fingers to the side of her forehead. "If I don't get out of this paperwork soon, I'm gonna kill Tracy."

"You've been doing paperwork for twenty minutes." Lila commented. She leaned over the desk, glancing at the papers. "And it's not even paperwork, it's your math homework."

"What?" Morgan lifted the papers up, eyeing them with confusion. "Huh. This _is_ my math homework. I thought it was the new budget." She lowered it, a surprised look on her face. "I'm disappointed. I thought I found a way for Charlie in accounting to get those 38 watermelons he wanted."

Lila snorted. She shook her head in disbelief. It was good to see Morgan make jokes.

It had only been two months since Morgan's sister's death. Lila could still remember the loud cries Morgan made after Darcy's' funeral. The newly crowned princess had rarely smiled anymore.

If Traveling to _Supernatural_ would make her happy...

"You watch much _Supernatural_?" Morgan asked.

It brought Lila back to the conversation. "Nah. It's...violent." Lila admitted. She blushed. "I've seen the stuff on Tumblr, though."

"I've seen it." A new girl piped in, having just walked in. She was blonde too, only with a much more 'surfer' style hairdo. She was mildly tan, with blue eyes and a wide smile. She wore a sky blue shirt _Ron Jon Surf Shop_ shirt, with jeans. She was short at 5'5.

Morgan's eyes lit up. " _Awesome_. What's your name again?"

"Katelynn, with a K." She clarified.

"Katelynn with a K. That's what I'm calling you now." Morgan stated. Lila shook her head, smiling. "What are you, Dean girl or Sam girl?"

"I _was_ a Sam girl, but then Castiel happened." Katelynn explained. Lila watched the two talk as if they were characters in an anime, but without subtitles or dubbing. "You?"

"Believe it or not, it's-what season are you?" Morgan paused.

"Just started five." Katelynn answered.

"Oh then I love the Trickster." Morgan answered.

"That murderer with a sweet tooth?" Katelynn asked in disbelief.

"I know. He's gorgeous." Their crowned princess sighed dramatically, swooning in her chair.

"He killed Dean!" Katelynn reminded Morgan.

"Everyone's killed Dean! Even _Sam_ has killed Dean!" Morgan countered. She was happy to do it. Then she laughed. A dark _knowing_ laugh that no human should _ever_ make. "You just started five? Oh Chuck, you're in for a bad week."

"Do you know enough about the show?" Lila interjected. She was concerned about Morgan, the girl being one of her few Traveler friends.

"According to Netflix, ' _Siblings Dean and Sam cross the country, picking fights with demon, ghosts, and monsters'._ Dean and Cas have been eye fucking since their first scene. Probably since Misha's audition if we're being honest." Morgan explained.

Katelynn laughed, sitting in a chair at Morgan's desk. "God yes they have! It's _exhausting_! Cas left a _brand_ on him. That only happens in the most romantic fanfictions!"

"Plus, there was a new episode last night. _'Goodbye Stranger'_ , and I just...I need to be in a place that experiences that level of pain." Morgan explained, emotion in her eyes. "It...it was _brutal_ and I am _in love_ with it and I need to be _surrounded_ by it."

Katelynn seemed to understand.

Lila was only more worried. "Everyone who watches that show is in love with pain." Lila stated.

"It's called _masochism_. We subscribed to it the second we heard Dad hadn't been home in a few days." Morgan supplied with too much pep for the topic. "Okay, you're on season 5?"

"Yeah. Finished _Lucifer's Rising_ , and I'm going to watch _'Sympathy with the Devil'_ after my shift." Katelynn explained in cheer. She worked as Morgan's secretary, funny enough. Well it was funny to Morgan. She never thought she'd have a _secretary._

"Why wait? Watch it now!" Morgan encouraged.

"But I'm at work." Katelynn reminded, confused.

"If _I'm_ not even doing my job, then neither can you." Morgan warned, seriously. "It sets a bad image if we're not in sync with our slacking off. Now give me your phone number, I need to send you the memes I've been saving." Morgan squealed in delight. She brought out her phone. "And Tumblr stuff. Man, we're the gods of tumblr."

"Which is funny, considering our fandom has killed gods." Katelynn joked.

"What do I tell Tracy?" Lila asked, looking up from a clipboard.

"' _Fuck off'_ , and you can quote me on that." Morgan answered, scrolling through the photos on her phone. "Okay! Katelynn with a K, look at this picture I have of Sam from _'The Mystery Spot'_! It's so funny, cause it's true!"

==DG==

It was two days later before Morgan was satisfied with her plans.

"You _bitch_!" Katelynn greeted Morgan.

The black haired girl grew a knowing smile. She was writing on her notebook. There was a lot of paperwork behind her, with colored strings connected to colored push pins, all in a code only Morgan seemed to understand. She never explained them to anyone, and no one wanted to stare at it long enough to put the code together.

Lila was in the room as well. She was mostly there to give Morgan the colored strings and push pins. She had been in the room while Morgan created that wall of terror and Lila _still_ couldn't tell you why

"Finished season 5, huh?" Morgan teased.

"I just finished _Swan Song_." Katelynn hissed. Though she was smiling too. "How could you not warn me?!"

"Oh. Poor Katelynn with a K." Morgan made an over dramatic pout. "You thought you were ready for that emotionally, weren't you?"

"No! I wasn't."

Morgan grinned. She looked over at the confused Lila. "Katelynn over there kept texting me that she _'read it on fan-wiki'_ so she _'was prepared'_. Come showtime, she's a sobbing wreck. A _disgrace_ to the fandom."

"It's okay to cry, and be a man!" Katelynn argued in a too deep voice, and a bright teasing smile. Morgan threw her head back to laugh.

Lila was confused. Morgan, again, must've understood. Were they talking in code?

"Wait until you watch season six. You're going to die." Morgan promised, still laughing.

"I _want_ to say I don't believe you." Katelynn complained. She limped over to the couch, collapsing onto it. "But you said that about _Hammer of the Gods-_ "

"Don't bring up that emotional hell." Morgan groaned. "My heart broke a little more when you mentioned it."

"Don't you miss season one? When they were _happy_?" Katelynn complained loudly.

"I don't know. Sam just lost his girlfriend. He doesn't _look_ happy. I wouldn't be either, but I knew Jess was going to die."

Lila felt her spirits rise when Morgan and Katelynn just open mouth _stared_ at her. "What? It was all over tumblr."

"You just started the show?" Morgan asked.

"Last night, yeah."

"What episode are you on?" Katelynn asked.

"I stopped before _Faith_." Lila admitted.

"Fuck you." Morgan and Katelynn instantly muttered, looks of surprise on their faces.

"Never speak to me, until you're caught up." Morgan warned, holding up a hand as if to distance herself from Lila's innocence.

"You're in season eight!"

"She's in six. Pick your poison. Hehehe...poison. I need to write that down, I'll need some just in case."

The most shocking thing was the shopping list Morgan always seemed to need. Guns, bullets, swords, a rubber duck ("I didn't think it was possible to commit murder with a rubber duck either, but I was reading some smut fic and-" "I said I didn't want to know!"), two sawed off shotguns, and some new hunting knives.

Honestly, the woman treated all of this like some kind of destination vacation.

"Look at the brightside-" Morgan commented.

"Brightside?!" Lila screeched.

"I converted you to Supernaturalism. That's a whole new fun brand of religion." Morgan smirked too wide.

"When does she leave?" Lila asked Katelynn.

The other blonde glanced at a wall clock. "Soon. But she's only gone for an hour, then we have to deal with her again."

"I heard sometimes it was two." Lila added with teasing hope.

Katelynn smiled with that same hope. "On if only we could be so lucky."

"Wow. Okay. I see where I stand." Morgan commented, putting her hands on her hips. "I would stay away longer, but then I'd be giving you blondes what you want."

"But seriously when do you leave?" Lila asked.

Morgan groaned, head lolling back. " _Bitch_ es. If this is the treatment I'm gonna get, then I'm leaving now!" She marched towards the door, completely missing that she was giving the blondes what they wanted.

Lila didn't miss it. She smiled at Katelynn. "Can I keep you around?"

"My internship isn't done until summer, so yes." Katelynn grinned. She sunk further down into the couch. "This is gonna be so much fun."

Morgan came back in, grabbing her bigger on the inside bag. "Forgot my bag." She turned her nose up, not looking at either blonde. "You're still bitches. Good bye."

"Later." The blondes congregated on the couch, deciding to talk about the few episodes Lila had seen.

A part of Morgan's heart warmed at seeing friendship start over _Supernatural_.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: Here we are. I've been trying to publish this for ages, it's never been right.**

 **Most of the conversations have really happened between me and my friend, who's relatively new to the fandom. SkadiLokison, ha ha, haha, ha ha.**

 **This is part of the Spencer Saga. For those that care, it's before** _ **The Day My Life Continued**_ **. Morgan is 197 right now.**


	2. Wings of a Raven

Dean was wrapping up a hunt, just a simple witch hunt. Nothing exciting. Nothing to take his mind of his latest _'chick flick'_ drama with his brother. The summer of '05 had just ended. This meant Sam was starting his next year of Stanford. Another year out of the life, another year of getting the apple pie life Sam had never had.

First day of classes, Dean was at bar getting drunk.

It was a couple miles out from Stanford. Dean had come for a quick check up on Sam.

He needed beer or sex. Beer _and_ sex would be better. Anything to stop worrying about his brother.

It was barely late, maybe ten or eleven. Dean didn't care.

There were a lot of other people in the bar. A bunch of college kids looking to get drunk, plus some guys that looked like regulars.

There was a chick at the bar that got his attention. She was hot. She had long brown hair in these waves down to her shoulders. Her skin looked naturally tan. She was dressed in a black leather jacket, long jeans, combat boots, and a black tank top. All in all, she looked hot.

So, Dean did as Dean does.

He walked to the bar, taking a seat next to her. The chick didn't give him a glance. Dean ordered a beer, the first of many.

He put on his best flirty grin to the chick. "Hi."

She gave him a side eye. She went back to her beer. "Hi." She copied his flirty tone, except she clearly wasn't interested.

He held out his hand. "Dean."

"Raven. You are _not_ my type." She replied, not missing a beat. She glanced down at his lap. "I don't really like them with... _parts_."

"Oh."

"Sound disappointed there, hotshot."

"Kinda am, yeah. Didn't think...you know...they liked this type of bar."

"They got beer. What more does it need?"

The bartender gave Dean his drink, just in time. Dean gave a little toast to her. "You got me there."

"Except I just told you why I don't got you _there_." She made another meaningful look at his pants.

It took Dean a second to get what she meant. He laughed.

"I bet you a round that you can't name all fifty states in ten minutes." The woman challenged.

Dean grinned. "Oh hell yeah. I can do that."

"Now, get started. You time starts now."

==DG==

He couldn't do it.

Ten minutes, and he couldn't remember all 50 states.

So he bought Raven a drink.

"Thanks for playing, Dean," Raven cheered. She motioned to the bartender, giving him her drink order of a scotch before going back to Dean. "I'm actually impressed. You had me going for a bit there. You forgot Vermont-"

"Oh now way that's cheating." Dean argued, gulping down some of his beer.

Raven snorted. "Oh yeah? How is it cheating, Dean?"

"You made those up." Dean replied. "There's no way they named a state _'Vermont'_."

"There's also Oregon."

"No that's a trail."

"Yeah. _In Oregon._ " Raven laughed, just in time for her drink to show up.

Dean had to admit, in the twenty minutes he had been floundering for fifty states, Raven was turning out to be a cool chick.

By morning, Dean put off the memory of the chick out of his hungover head.

==DG==

There was a case in town. Dean set out on his hunt.

It looked like a simple salt-and-burn. Some old lady hated how her great-grandkids weren't living up to the family legacy, by having like five kids before they were twenty and having jobs that didn't involve taking off clothes.

If Sam were here, he'd be telling Dean all the stuff he found in his research. He'd also have done it all in a few hours, instead of Dean's full day.

Except, when Dean went to burn the body, it was already burnt to ash.

He went to the family again (more specifically, the family of the guy that died after Dean burned the body) to ask if not-so-great-grandma had anything that could have a hair or tooth in it.

They mentioned a hairbrush, though. Except it was being sold in some auction.

Just his luck.

==DG==

Dean broke into the auction house. He started looking for this stupid hairbrush-with a stupid dead lady's last hair so that she could die.

He must've been right about it. Not even two minutes go by before the grandma's ghost shows up, looking for hunter blood.

He shot off a few salt rounds, buying him time so he could find that stupid old fashioned hairbrush. The ghost flashed away, to the sound of broken glass.

Dean remembered that ghosts didn't make a crashing noise. He turned his head to the sound, seeing a chick climbing in from the back.

It was bar chick.

"You!" Dean shouted.

She turned over to him. " _You_?"

It was like they woke up Grandma with their shouting.

The ghost came back and she was _pissed_. She screeched at Dean, before going back to bar chick.

The grandma reached up for the chick. Raven grinned when the grand tried to touch her.

"Hey!" Dean shouted. He reached for his crowbar, remembering it in his jacket.

Except when grandma touched her, grandma screamed and burned.

The chick kept grinning. "Covered my jacket in salt based sunscreen. Basically." She hopped up on her feet. "Anti-ghost wear."

"You're a hunter?" Dean shouted.

"Last I checked, yeah!" She moved aside just as the ghost reappeared to swing at Raven's head. "You are too. Watch it!" She warned.

Dean had to jump back. The ghost had tried to grab his neck.

Raven ran over to the hairbrush. Dean fought off the ghost, swinging the iron crowbar at granny. It was enough of a distraction for Raven to burn the brush. Granny fell to ashes.

"You burned the body, huh?" Dean asked after the blood rush of the fight faded off.

"So you're the FED I've been worried about?" Raven countered.

"Winchester." Dean added.

The hunter smirked. "Quinzel."

They gave each other a head nod.

==DG==

By morning, Dean and Raven had told the family that they were safe. It was for good this time.

"Mind of I drive with you?" Raven asked. "It's just, when I burned the body she trashed my car."

"Yeah sure." Dean let her take the seat. Raven tossed a dark green sack in the backseat. "Only to the next town over."

"Thanks."

"What kind of car?" Dean asked when he started up the Impala.

"A crappy truck. Toyota 1987." Raven reported. "I had her painted black, even had the trunk fixed up to keep ghosts and demons out."

"Really, demons?" Dean began the long drive out. "Sounds tough."

"Yeah. I didn't want to take the chance that they'd take my supplies. It's in that sack now." Raven explained. "But dude, I gotta show you my stuff. It's _awesome_."

This started what ended up being a great friendship.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: I've been watching a lot of convention videos online, so there were a lot of times where I almost wrote 'Jensen' instead of Dean. Plus s12 finale happened. That hurt in a lot of ways.**

 **But...SPOILER ALERT...I got my Grenade launcher/Dean Winchester OTP. That helped. Also Dean shouting at his parent made me smile. Sorry if I spoiled anything! I warned you!**

 **Thanks to PoisonCupcake101 and Dramione Winchester-Halliwell, for favoriting**

 **Thanks to PoisonCupcake101 and Dramione Winchester-Halliwell for following**


	3. Supernatural

The car jerked forward as it's driver pressed on the brakes.

Though we'd only said we'd drive together for a few days, Dean Winchester and Raven Quinzel were becoming a good pair of hunters.

Neither of us wanted to admit we were using the other to get over the loss of our sibling. Dean reminded me of my sister. She was a flirt. She wasn't having a proper weekend until she had sex with two guys (if it was at the same time, then yay). She was a soldier, an assassin trained to hunt the monsters of the world. I reminded him of Sam. There had been a lot of times he found my nose deep in a book, sometimes for a hunt and sometimes not.

I'd taught him how to make the salt paste for jackets. He taught me the proper way to fire rock salt, without falling back on your ass. Good skills, in the long run. We learned from each other.

I woke up harshly, glaring at Dean. He sat in his seat ignoring my death glare. The seasoned hunter only acknowledged me when he looked towards the house.

Dean was staring intensely at the building. He didn't make any real moves towards it, just sitting in the driver's seat with a tense form.

"This isn't a bar." My deadpan would've been more effective if I wasn't pulling myself up from the floor. "You said we were getting drinks."

The hunter gave me a sort of glare. It fell flat when he looked back the building with hesitation.

"This is his house, isn't?" I asked carefully, wanting to pacify the glare. Dean's tense shoulders loosened. "So buck up, and go get your nerd of a brother."

Dean eyed me. He gave me a half confident smirk. "Whatever the lady wants."

"You're damn right." I smirked. In excitement I whacked him on the leather covered arm. "You better walk out in five, or I'm gonna come after you." I reminded him, giving him a warning look.

"We'll shoot you." Dean warned. There was an indecisive look on his face that was gone in a second.

"That'll be a laugh." Though he didn't hear me, since he had already left the car and slammed the door shut.

While waiting, I pulled out my phone to get a good song or two in before running up after the idiots. A play or two of ' _Dead Girl Walking'_ was long enough for a wait.

Chances were, Dean was waiting in front of Sam's door piss pants scared. On TV, the man was brazen as all hell. When it came to family shit, the boy was drowning.

"That's five." I pushed the passenger door open.

I ran up to Sam's apartment. Dean had been going over this hard for two weeks so we knew as much about this place as probably Sam himself. It was easy to reach his apartment, then pick the lock of his apartment.

Pushing the door open, I could see the two brothers having a lovely reunion in the dark.

"Dean?" I called out.

The hunter stared at me in surprise. "You said you would wait in the car!" He hissed.

"I said I would give you five minutes, then I'd come in after you." I reminded him.

"That wasn't five minutes!" Dean whined.

The lights switched on, so I got a better look at Sam's place and the man himself.

He was a _baby_. The hair short enough that it didn't reach his shoulders, choosing instead to flair out like angel wings around his head. There were no lines on his face from all the years of loss, centuries in Hell as Lucifer's playtoy. His lips were in their typical Sam frown, the one you saw in the later seasons more often than not. There were just some bags under his eyes from the sleepless nights of college (and having sleepovers with your girlfriend). His expression was a flat lip of annoyance, staring at Dean and I like we were cats that kept finding a way into your apartment (except you don't have a cat door or open windows).

Standing by the light switch, I saw the gorgeous face of Jess, wearing a cropped Smurf shirt and booty shorts. Not gonna lie, she was hot. Just wish blondes were my type...

That was another fun thing about being in this universe. This Raven Quinzel, she was more _open_ than Morgan Spencer had ever been. Back Home, I'd bite my tongue off before admitting I was bi. Raven didn't have that silent trait, apparently.

Yeah I said _bi_. I totally lied to Dean.

"Sam?" Jess asked. She nervously observed her boyfriend, then the two strangers in her house.

The two knuckleheads turned to her. It was funny how stupid they were when they were arguing.

"Jess. Hey." Sam found his voice. "Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica."

Dean was just getting lost in her...eyes.

"And...who are you?" Sam asked, eyeing me dare I say angrily.

"Raven Quinzel." I answered, with a clever smirk. "His friend."

"Yeah. Friend." Dean murmured, still staring at Jess.

"Wait, your brother Dean?" Jess smiled happily at the older hunter.

Sam nodded. The only thing he really could do with Dean standing in the room like that.

"Oh, I love the Smurfs." Dean complimented. "You know, I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brother's league."

"You are." Was my input.

Jess nervously started to back away. "Just let me put something on." She had nearly escaped when Dean called her back.

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously." He went back towards Sam. He didn't once look away from Jess.

Sam was annoyed, no doubt used to it after two decades of living with him. Me, on the other hand, I had eight seasons of this so that was _like_ eight _decades_ of Winchester flirting.

"Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business." He glanced at me, probably trying to get me to leave too. I just smiled innocently, not moving. "But, uh, nice meeting you." He gave up with me. He instead just smiled politely at Jess.

"It really was." I smirked.

"No." Sam shook his head. goes over to Jess and puts an arm around her. Sam "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her."

Dean and I exchanged a look.

"Okay." The other hunter braced himself. "Um. Dad hasn't been home in a few days."

"So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later." Sam responded sassily.

Well, John _was_ a drunk.

Dean just schooled his features. Sam was being difficult, which according to Dean on the way up here was kinda expected. "Dad's on a _hunting trip_. And he hasn't been home in a few days."

Sam had the best poker face.

"Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."

==DG==

"I mean, come on. You can't just break in, middle of the night, with your girlfriend-"

"Not my girlfriend."

"-and expect me to hit the road with the two of you." Sam argued as he were leaving his apartment.

"You're not hearing me, Sammy. Dad's _missing_." Dean stressed. He paused on the stairs to give his brother a stern look. I stopped beside him, looking at Sam with impatience. "I need you to help me find him."

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst?" The student reminded when they started back down the stairs. I had to rush to keep up with Dean. These two had long legs! "Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's always missing, and he's always fine."

Again, Dean stopped in the middle of the stairs.

"Not for this long." Dean stressed.

"And why can't she help you find him?" Sam motioned to me.

"Because I don't know anything about John." I explained. "Not as well as you and Dean."

"Then why are you even here?" Sam snapped.

"Dean asked." I replied. "Now are you gonna come with us or not?"

"I'm not." Sam answered matter-of-factly.

"Why not?" Dean asked. Ever the mature older brother.

"I swore I was done hunting. For good." Sam narrowed his eyes at Dean.

"Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad." His brother brushed off, walking down the rest of the stairs.

I followed. We were headed towards the door.

"Yeah?" Sam turned to me. "Hey, maybe this'll tell you something about _John Winchester_. When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45."

I didn't let my wince show. When my sister was six, she was already learning how to use a blade. She was seven before I started training her with guns.

"I can't really say anything negative about that, cause it's a good idea." I admitted. "That happened when... _I_ was a kid. Saved my life more than once."

"Well, what was he supposed to do?" Dean agreed with me, though more in defense of his dad.

"I was nine years old!" Sam argued. He was now glaring at us in disgust. "He was supposed to say, ' _don't be afraid of the dark'_."

Dean stared at his brother as if his ear had doubled in size. " _Don't be afraid of the dark_? Are you kidding me?" He asked. "Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there."

His brother huffed. "Yeah, I know, but still. The way we grew up, after Mom was killed, and Dad's _obsession_ to find the thing that killed her." Sam ranted. The older Winchester and I looked anywhere else but him. "But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we can find."

"We save a lot of people doing it, too." Dean pointed out.

"You think Mom would have wanted this for us?" Sam countered.

' _No. She didn't.'_

==DG==

Sam's complaining didn't stop. If anything, our ignoring him made him angrier. "You have no idea what it was like." He explained to me. "The weapon training, and melting the silver into bullets! We were raised like warriors."

"Not seeing the problem with that. I was raised one too." I stated. "It wasn't _that_ crappy a childhood."

In truth, it wasn't. When you don't have parents, you can raise yourself however you please. Can I be faulted for wanting to grow up a fighter? I liked being the nomad that I was. There were times when things were tough, when I struggled to get food on the table. Still, Darcy and I made it work.

This seemed to be enough for Sam to realize his argument on hunting would be lost on me. He huffed, going back to his bratty bitch face.

"So what are you gonna do? You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?" Dean challenged.

"No. Not normal. _Safe_." Sam corrected, giving Dean a hard challenging look back.

I snorted. "Are you kidding me? College kids are the least safe people on the planet! Just look at _every_ horror movie ever: college kids die in those." ' _You wouldn't die, Sam, because you're the smartest college kid I know...which is kinda like being the tallest dwarf.'_

"And that's why you ran away." Dean stated. Coldly. Hurtly. Hoping no one notices how much it hurt to let Sam leave.

"I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone." Sam reminded in a matter-of-fact voice. I glared at him on Dean's behalf. ' _John is an asshole.'_ "And that's what I'm doing."

' _You've never listened to him once in your life. How come the only time you did it was to leave Dean alone with him?'_

"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already." Dean reminded. "I can feel it." Sam didn't say anything to that. "I can't do this alone." Dean begged.

Sam shook his head. "You're doing it with her."

"He won't do it _without you._ " I corrected. "To be honest, I won't either. Your brother talked up a big game about you. I'd like to see if he was right."

This almost surprised Sam. Guess he didn't think Dean would brag about his baby brother to anyone, much less a virtual stranger. He was a seasoned hunter, his expression didn't flinch at the news. His poker face was fit for any high stakes game. There was a spark of submission in his brown eyes. He was going to say yes.

"What was he hunting?" He asked Dean.

Dean was satisfied with his answer. He walked over to the trunk of the Impala. He popped it open, then the secret second compartment. "All right, let's see, where the hell did I put that thing?"

"So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked Dean.

"We were working our own gig." Dean answered. He looked over at me. "This, uh, voodoo thing, down in New Orleans, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And you left the folder under that rifle."

I had done it with him. Dean had spoken with John over the phone, so I was spared the presence of John Winchester. It was a bit of disappointment. My fist wanted to meet his cheek.

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by _yourself_?" Sam asked. His eyes were wide in surprise. His mouth was an 'o' shape. He looked over at me, which made his eyebrows fly up to his bangs. "With _her_?"

I smiled toothily at him. A small, ' _fight me'_ chuckle came from my throat. "I'm _right_ here."

Dean gave his brother an indignant stare, which made me smile wider. "I'm twenty-six, dude. I don't need his permission for who I hang out with."

He moved aside the rifle, revealing the folder of old newspapers. "All right, here we go. So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy." He gave the folder to the student lawyer. "They found his car, but he vanished. Completely MIA."

Sam gave the file a quick glance. He turned a few pages, then shrugged. "So maybe he was kidnapped." He excused.

"You'd think that, until you heard of the man in April." I gave Sam the other newspaper. "Then going back, you have one in '04, '03, '98, '92. _Ten_ men over the past twenty years go missing over the same five-mile stretch of road." I explained. When I was done, I took the newspapers back from Sam and stuffed them back into the pack. I put my hands on my hips, confident that Sam couldn't argue against _that._

' _Besides, he's a Stanford student. I am a proud Harvard_ grad _. Suck it, Stanford.'_

"It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around." Dean took over the talk. "That was about three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough." He pulled out one of the burner phones. "Then I get this voicemail yesterday."

" _Dean...something big is starting to happen...I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... Be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger."_

He clapped the phone shut.

Dean and I were giving Sam matching challenging looks. A dare to call us out. A dare to back out now. A dare to leave his family behind.

He took it like a champ. "You know there's EVP on that?" Sam asked.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?" Dean encouraged.

Sam shook his head. There was an under hit of the Bitch-face.

Dean made a face. The dark blond eyebrows lowered. His green eyes narrowed a bit. His lips thinned. If you watch this show long enough, you'd recognize it as the face he makes before arguing with Sam.

"Dean slowed the message down." I explained before Dean could say anything that'd start a fight. I looked at Sam with a straight face. In the corner of my eye, I kept watch of Dean's expression. "Ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, everything. He got something out of it." With a bit of impatience, I looked to Dean.

The hunter huffed at having the wind taken out of his wings. He pulled out the tape recorder, pressing play.

" _I can never go home..."_

He stopped it.

"Never go home." Sam repeated.

Dean tossed the recorder back in the trunk. He stood up straight. It nearly made him as tall as Sam. He closed the trunk. Looking at Sam over his shoulder, Dean leaned over the trunk. I rested my hip against Baby's side. "You know, in almost two years I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing."

Sam looks away and sighs, then looks back. Sam "All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him."

Dean nodded, victorious.

"But I have to get back first thing Monday." Sam warned. "Just wait here." He turned towards his apartment.

"What's first thing Monday?" Dean called out before Sam could get far.

"Is it a thing with the girlfriend?" I asked, being deliberately wrong. "Cause I can get you back here if it's about your girlfriend."

It would occur to me in five minutes that something _does_ happen to his girlfriend on Monday. And that unless I wanted to die pointlessly, it would happen while Sam watched.

"I have this...I have an interview." Sam admitted.

"What, a job interview? Skip it." Dean encouraged easily.

Sam gave us both a mockingly arrogant face. "It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate." Sam countered.

"Law school?" Dean smirked proudly.

Sam huffed. In the annoyance of a child truly done with his parents. "So we got a deal or not?"

His brother didn't say a thing against it. Neither did I.

Satisfied, Sam walked away.

I waited until he was climbing the stairs to look at Dean. "You know, I thought he'd be shorter."

Dean gave me a half hearted snort. He pushed himself off the trunk, making his way to the driver's seat.

My shoulder slumped some. He hadn't looked away from where Sam left.

==DG==

Dean had been driving for a few hours before we stopped at a gas station. I was wandering the aisles grabbing various bits of snacks, beer, and candy. I was a sucker for peanut butter cups and caramels. Besides that, I had picked up extra containers of salt and other ingredients for the salt jackets. Sam was going to need one later for the whole thing with Constance.

Checking out, I thought I had an impressive amount of road trip snacks. I made my way back to the Impala. Dean was right behind me.

"Hey!" Dean called over to his brother. The younger looked at us, away from the box of tapes he was sifting through. "You want breakfast?" I opened a pack of mini donuts, taking a bite of one.

"No, thanks." He grimaced at all the greasy sugary food. "So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Sam asked, not hiding his distaste.

"I'll have you know this was all paid for by the lovely-" I pulled out the wallet I had stolen three days prior. "-Miss Heather Chandler. She is filthy rich and felt generous when she left her purse open in front of me!"

Dean snorted at me. He turned back to his brother, not letting Sam off. "Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career." He put the gas nozzle away. "Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards."

"Yeah?" Sam scoffed. "And what names did you write on the application this time?" He pulled himself back in the car. The window was open so he could still hear us.

I climbed in the backseat. The backseat had mostly been claimed by me when we picked up Sam. My Infinity Bag was on the seat behind Sam. My body was able to comfortably lie back against the side. Dean had some beers of his own back here in the space between the seats. I put my bags of food down next to the beers.

There was a giddy part of me that kept thinking this was my first road trip with the Winchesters. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd take out my iphone and take pictures. The disposable camera would have to do for now.

"Uh, Burt Aframian." Dean answered Sam as he climbed in the car. He put his food beside his seat. "And his son Hector. Scored two cards out of the deal." He grinned proudly.

"Dude nice." I complimented.

"That sounds about right." Sam shook his head. "I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection."

Dean puffed his chest up. "Why?" He asked, ready to defend his tunes.

To be honest, I started snickering.

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two." Sam holds up a tape for every band he names. Sam "Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?"

"Metallica. Sweet!" I reached for the tape.

Sam glared at us in annoyance. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

Dean yanked it away from both of our grubby hands.

"Dude! I wanted to play it!" I defended.

Dean's eyes glared at me. "I still don't like you touching it. Last time you nearly tossed it."

"You turned the car!" I defended for what felt like the hundredth time. "Of _course_ the tape would fly out of my hand!"

"Well, house rules, Sammy." He pushed the tape in the tape player, pulling out the second Metallica tape. "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole." He dropped the other one back in the box, while also turning on the engine.

The Impala purred for him. The music blasted out of the speakers. I started playing air drums to the music.

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old." He tried to shout over the music. "It's Sam, okay?"

His brother pretended not to hear. "Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud."

He drove the Impala out of the gas station.

==DG==

It was another three hours before we made it to the Jericho sign.

"Thank you." Sam sighed when he finished his phone call. "All right. So, there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something, I guess."

"Whoa." I pulled myself up in the seat, pointing towards the bridge. You could make out a pair of police cars. "Check it out."

The two brothers moved for a closer look. Once they saw what I saw, they tensed. Dean pulled over. The three of us watched the police cars, looking for any sign of John. When there wasn't any, Dean pulled the fake ID's out of the glove box.

I went to my Bag, searching for some of mine. There was one from my days in the FBI that I had swapped out Raven's face for. With Dean's help, I had a few extra. I had come up with a quick lie telling him my other ones were getting old.

Dean held up his marshal badge. I held mine up beside it. The two of us exchanged grins while Sam watched this utter disregard for law in horror.

"Let's go." Dean decided.

Though I wasn't in a pantsuit, my outfit looked _kinda_ professional. It was a blue plaid shirt, with a white tank under. My jeans were dark and new, with dark brown boots. All in all, not the least professional thing I'd seen someone wear. I took off the plaid shirt, pulling out a dark brown jacket from the Bag.

With my disguise ready, I climbed out of the car. It was not time before I was walking beside Dean. My shoulders were squared back with enough confidence to keep up my story.

It was the straw that made Sam get out of the car.

"You guys find anything?" Jaffe shouted from the bridge.

"No! Nothing!" An officer shouted from the river below.

The officer huffed, walking back to the car.

"No sign of struggle, no footprints, no fingerprints. Spotless." Hein reported from the driver's side. "It's almost too clean."

The brothers and I walked in the crime scene. They started glancing around for clues on what this thing was. I knew better. Instead, I found myself scanning for what I would when I was a fed.

Hein was right. There was nothing here that was suspicious except for the abandoned car.

"So, this kid Troy. He's dating your daughter, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"How's Amy doing?"

"She's putting up missing posters downtown."

"You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn't you?" Dean asked.

Jaffe turned his head to Dean, suddenly noticing him and us. "And who are you?"

Dean pulled out his badge. "Federal marshals." He shoved it back in his pocket before Jaffe could get a good read.

"You three are a little young for marshals, aren't you?" Jaffe questioned.

"Thanks. I moisturize." I stated, walking over to Hein's side of the car. The officer was giving me an untrusting glare. I pretended to look over Troy's seat.

"You did have another one just like this, correct?" Dean pressed with Jaffe.

Jaffe nodded, still unsure about us being here. "Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There've been others before that."

"So, this victim, you knew him?" Sam asked. _Finally_ getting involved.

"Town like this, everybody knows everybody." Jaffe explained.

"These victims were all men." I stated, coming up from my crouched position. It was doing murder on my thighs. "Is there any other connection than that?"

"No. Not so far as we can tell." Jaffe admitted.

"So what's the theory?" Sam asked, as he and Dean made their way to me.

"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?" Jaffe guessed.

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys."

I kicked his shin the same time Sam stomped on his foot.

"Thank you for your time." Said Sam diplomatically before he walked away. "Gentlemen."

I gave them my brightest smile before following him. Dean followed me.

Once we were far enough away, Dean smacked both of us on the head.

"Ow!"

"Geez!"

"What was that for?" Sam asked, rubbing the spot.

"Why'd you have to step on my foot and kick my shin?" Dean challenged.

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?" Sam countered.

"Will you two shut up! Then can still see us!" I reminded them.

Dean stepped in front of us, effectively blocking our path. "Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this." He argued. Behind him, proper feds were coming up. "I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."

I was tempted to kick his shin to shut him up. Sam saved my skin, clearing his throat and looking over Dean's shoulder.

Dean turned to face the sheriff. "Can I help you boys?" Sheriff Pierce asked.

"No, sir, we were just leaving." Dean assured. The two agents walked past him. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully."

The three of us went back to the Impala.

==DG==

We went into town. Our only lead was the girlfriend, Amy.

We found her by the movie theatre. The goth was hanging up pictures with Troy's face.

"I'll bet you that's her." Dean stated.

"Yeah." Sam and I agreed.

We walked up to her.

"You must be Amy." Dean greeted.

"Yeah." She replied, cooly.

"Yeah, Troy told us about you." Dean smiled warmly at her. "We're his uncles, and his aunt. I'm Dean, this is Sammy, and that's Raven."

"He never mentioned you to me." Amy replied easily. She turned to walk away.

Dean, Sam, and I walked with her.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess." I laughed. "We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around." Sam joined in on the fun.

That was when another goth, Rachel, came up. She put a comforting arm over her friend. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Amy nodded.

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" Sam asked.

They said it was okay.

There was a local diner they told us about. The five of us were seated at a booth, with Winchester opposite the girls, and me at the head of the table.

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and...he never did." Amy explained.

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked.

"No. Nothing I can remember." Amy answered.

"Cute necklace." I complimented, trying to lift her spirits.

She held up the pentagram necklace. She smiled. "Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents-" She laughed. "-with all that devil stuff."

"Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful." Sam explained before remembering himself. "I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

"Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries." Dean teased. He leaned forward in the booth. "Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything..."

The girls exchanged a nervous look.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"Well, it's just... I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk." Rachel shrugged it off.

"What do they talk about?" Dean, Sam, and I asked.

Rachel shifted in her seat. She leaned forward on her elbows, looking down at her clenched hands. "It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago. Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever."

The three of us shared a look.

' _We had a ghost.'_

==DG==

Dean was trying-and failing- to look up anything.

After ten minutes of failing to find anything, Sam pushed Dean out of the way. "Let me try."

"I got it." Dean pushed Sam back.

The younger shoves his brother away into my seat. I fell to the floor, landing on my bag. It hurt.

"Stupid nerds." I grumbled. Pushing myself to my feet, I grabbed Sam's old chair.

"Dude!" The older smacked his brother. "You're such a control freak."

"You're both idiots so it balances out." I snarked, trying to get comfortable in the new seat. It was _warm_ and _weird_.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" Sam asked, ignoring us both.

"Yeah." Dean and I grumbled.

"Well, maybe it's not murder." Sam changed _murder_ to _suicide_. This one got us a result. "This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river."

A picture of Constance was beside it.

"Does the article say why she jumped?" I asked.

"Yeah." Sam scrolled down.

"What?" I pressed.

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Sam read off.

"Hm." Dean and I huffed in sympathy.

"' _Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch'._ " Sam read off.

"The bridge look familiar to you?" Dean asked, pointing at the bridge we passed on the way to town.

==DG==

That night, Dean drove us back to the bridge. The moon was half full, so everything was cloaked in darkness.

Dean leaned over the railing, staring down at the rocks below. I stayed closer to the road. Heights had never been great for me. "So this is where Constance took the swan dive."

"Unless they're another bridge exactly like this one that we missed." I snarked.

"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." Dean reasoned.

We continued walking down the bridge, waiting for Constance. I knew she wouldn't come just yet.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asked, impatiently.

"Now we keep digging until we find him." Dean reasoned. "Might take a while."

Sam stopped in his step. His glare was visible under the moonlit. "Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday-"

"Monday." Dean interrupted. I stopped in my step, lowering my head in annoyance. My brown hair fell over my face like a shroud. "Right. The interview."

"Yeah." Sam bitched.

"Yeah, I forgot." Dean brushed away. "You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?"

"Maybe. Why not?" Sam asked.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" Dean argued.

"Can you two stop arguing for five straight minutes?" I asked.

"No, and she's not ever going to know." Sam swore.

"Well, that's healthy." Dean scoffed. "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."

"Don't you say it." I warned Dean.

"And who's that?" Sam challenged.

"You're one of us." Dean stated in an ' _I'm the big brother so I'm right'_ voice.

"Oh dear Storyline he said it." I pinched my forehead with my fingers. "Guys we're trying to hunt-"

"No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life." Sam argued.

"You have a responsibility to-" Dean snapped.

"To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like." Sam argued, his voice low. "And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back."

I jumped back when Dean grabbed Sam by the collar.

"Hey!" I hissed. "Put him down! We'll get the wrong attention!"

That was when I saw Constance on the bridge.

"Uh...boys?"

But Dean wasn't listening to me. He was glaring Sam down, despite the height different. "Don't talk about her like that." He warned Sam.

The younger brother relented.

Dean let him go.

I punched both of their arms. They winced, rubbing at the marks.

"Way to go boys!" I snapped. I waved my arm in the direction of Constance. "We got her attention at least!"

The brothers looked off towards Constance. They both tensed.

The ghost turned her head towards us. Before anyone could move, she stepped over the edge.

I ran up to where she had been. Sam and Dean behind me.

"Where'd she go?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." Sam replied.

"Did you salt the car like I told you to?" I asked Dean.

He furrowed his eyebrows at the question.

I was answered by the bright headlights switching on.

"What the-" Dean asked.

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked.

"Found Constance." I answered.

Dean swore under his breath.

Dean pulled out his car keys, as if to prove they were there. Sam stared at them in surprise.

Then we started running.

The car was coming closer and closer to us. Baby was trying to kill us. It was some cosmic joke that had the angels laughing upstairs. No doubt Chuck was losing his mind.

In the end, we had to jump off the bridge.

==DG==

My hands grabbed on to the metal bars below. My feet dangled below me. It was some work swinging them back up so I was in danger of falling.

When I made it back to the bridge, I clasped my hands on the railings to hold on for dear life.

"Sam? Dean?" I called out. "Boys!"

In the water, I could see two figures climbing out of the water. Dean hadn't surprised me, Sam had. I guess I took his space on the bridge.

"What?" They called up.

"You too okay?" I asked.

"Well...we're not dead." Sam answered.

Dean held up a gesture for okay. "We're super."

Pressing my back against the railing, I nodded. A laugh bubbled up from my throat. ' _They're idiots.'_

Below, I heard Sam laughing too.

==DG==

Dean's first action when he made it back up the bridge was to check on the Impala.

"Your car all right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now." Dean shook his head. He glared off in the direction we had last seen Constance. "That Constance chick, what a bitch!"

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So where's the job go from here, genius?" Sam asked. He leaned against the hood of the car beside me.

I grimaced. "We're not doing anything until you two shower. You smell like toilets."

The two brothers looked themselves. Their matching grimaces told me they could smell it too.

==DG==

It was morning by the time we made it to a motel.

"One room, please." Dean threw down the Aframain card. The two of them were still gross sticky messes.

The clerk looked down at the card. "You guys having a reunion or something?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked,

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month." The clerk admitted. He went to

The three of us exchanged knowing looks.

==DG==

Sam picked the lock of John's hotel room.

The walls were covered in printed out articles. John had picked out related supernatural photos. The dead men had their own wall.

John was _good_.

"Whoa." Sam and I breathed out.

Dean turned on the light, showing off more detail of the room. As neat and organized as the walls were, the rest of it was a dump. Half eaten food thrown around, a few old shirts stuffed by the bed, coupled with a smell that said the room hadn't been aired out in at least a week.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least."

"Really, I would've said a week." I tried to avoid smelling the overripe room. I walked over to the wall with Constance's face slapped on.

"Salt, cats-eye shells...he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in." Sam pointed out. "What have you got here?" He asked Dean.

"Centennial Highway victims." Dean noted. "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

"I think your dad figured it out." I spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"He found the same article you did." I pointed at the printed out paper, then trailed my finger down to the photo of the woman in white. "She's a woman in white."

"You sly dogs." Dean spoke to the wall of victims. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness." Sam thought out loud.

"Well, Dad would want to make sure." Dean came up to my side. "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

I scanned it. "Doesn't say."

"If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." Sam came up on my other side, tapping the photo of Joseph Welch. "If he's still alive."

"All right. Why don't you two, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up." Dean instructed.

"When your done, it's his turn to shower." I poked Sam's shoulder (trying to avoid the mud and other questionable things there.)

Sam grimaced at his own untidy self. Dean just laughed. He went inside the bathroom. I was willing to bet money it smelled as horrible as the rest of the room. I made my way towards one of the other walls to avoid the smell.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam spoke up. Dean paused, turning back to his brother. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry."

"No chick-flick moments." Dean warned.

It was clear he had let the whole thing go. My lips curled up in a warm smile

"All right." Sam laughed. "Jerk."

"Bitch." Dean shot back.

"Idiots." I snickered.

Sam laughed again. As Dean left, Sam noticed the photo his dad had pinned up. He went up to pick it up. His smile was fond now.

"What happened to her?" I asked, once I heard the sounds of Dean starting the shower.

Sam turned over to me. The photo was still in his hand. "Dean didn't say?"

I shook my head. "You know him. He's not a guy for heart to hearts. That and...it sounds like a personal story. You've been talking about it and I...just feel weird being out of the know."

Sam let out that small little half laugh he does. The kind that's under his breath, but lights up his whole face. "Yeah. I guess I made it kinda awkward bringing it up earlier, huh?"

"You did, yeah. Thanks for that." I teased.

He snorted. "Yeah well...it's not the kind of story you start friendships with."

' _It's the story you use to make friendships_ last.'

He settled down beside me on the bed. I tilted my body away to avoid the mud. "Mom was killed by a demon when i was six months old. She died in my nursery. Dad says he found her, burning on the ceiling." He sighed, as if hearing the story for the first time all over again. "He started hunting after that. He took Dean and me with him, raising us to be hunters. Except when I was seventeen I was offered a scholarship. Dad said if I took it, I wasn't allowed back. So I left."

I bumped my shoulder against his. It would've been a stretch if he had been standing. "I can't remember a time I wasn't in the life. My sister...she hunted with me too." My smile dropped at the memory of my sister. Instead was a heartbreaking frown. "She died a couple years back...it...it's still hard to talk about, you know?"

"Yeah, it's alright. I get it." Sam went to put his hand around my back, then thought better of it. His hand was covered in mud so I was thankful. "As annoying as Dean is, I don't know what I'd do if he died."

' _You get hooked on demon blood. I don't like thinking about it either.'_ "...I hope you never have too. I hate my life without..." ' _What was her fake name here again? Holy_ crap _this is irritating.'_ "...Ivy."

"Raven and Ivy Quinzel?"

"What, we can't have fake names?" I challenged with a mocking grin. Sam raised his eyebrow at me. "Kinda hiding from... _things_. Can't exactly go by my birth name. They'd find me and kill me. As much as I love my sister, I'm in no hurry to join her in the afterlife. She'd kick my ass for dying this young."

Sam gave me a look of assurance.

Then, we got on looking up the address of Joseph Welch.

It had felt good to talk about my sister. Back Home, I couldn't say much without getting _looks_. No one liked hearing about my assassin of a sister. Talking about her, in any context, was relaxing. Freeing.

It didn't shake away the grief I felt without her, though.

==DG==

Sam was finishing his shower up now. Dean had finished up five minutes ago. Already, the room was smelling better.

When Sam stepped out, Dean went back into hunter mode.

"Hey, guys. I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. You want anything?" Dean asked.

"No." Sam grabbed his jacket. (Which I had covered in the salt cream while he was in the shower)

"Aframian's buying." Dean offered.

"Mm-mm." Sam shook the water off his hair.

"Ooh take me!" I raised my arm.

Dean grinned. He opened the door, walking out. He left it open for me. I ran out.

We didn't get far before seeing Jaffe and Hein in the parking lot, talking to the clerk.

Dean pulled his phone, calling Sam.

" _What?"_ Sam asked when he answered.

"Dude, five-oh, take off." Dean warned.

" _What about you guys?"_ Sam asked, on alert.

"Uh, they kinda spotted us. Go find Dad." Dean ordered. He clapped the phone shut, turning to the officers. "Problem, officers?"

"Where's your other partner?" Jaffe asked.

"Other partner? What, what other partner?" Dean lied horribly.

Jaffe motioned for Hein to check out the motel room. Dean shifted on his feet beside me. I kept my face cool and calm.

"So. Fake US Marshals. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?" Jaffe challenged us.

"My boobs." Dean decided to say.

"Mine are actually fake." Was my joking addition. "Yeah. These are just used socks."

Dean and I grinned.

Not long after, Hein was handcuffing us against the hood of the cop car.

' _Worth it if it gave Sam time to escape.'_

==DG==

Due to the small size of the department, Dean and I were being interrogated in the same room.

They had taken my Bag into evidence. It was making my skin crawl to have it so far away.

Pierce finally stomped in the room some ten minutes after Dean and I were left here. He was carrying a storage box. Inside, I was rolling my eyes. I had done this all the time when I was a fed.

"So you want to give us your real names?" Pierce asked.

"I told you, it's Nugent. Ted Nugent." Dean replied.

"Veronica Dunnstock." I added with a faint smile. "Two n's in Dunnstock."

"I'm not sure the both of you realize just how much trouble you two're in here." Pierce warned.

"We talkin', like, misdemeanor kind of trouble or, uh, squeal like a pig trouble?" Dean asked.

"You got the faces of ten missing persons taped to your wall." Pierce brought up. "Along with a whole lot of Satanic mumbo-jumbo. You are officially suspects."

"Right, yeah, I get it. Because the first man was taken in '82. Before I was _born_."

"I know you've got partners. One of 'em's an older guy. Maybe he started the whole thing. So tell me. _Dean."_ He tossed John's journal across the table. "This his?"

Dean stared down at it, otherwise not saying anything.

I was already mentally flipping the bird at the book. For no other reason than it was John's. It was oddly relaxing.

The sheriff started turning pages in the journal. "I thought that might be your name. See, I leafed through this. What little I could make out-I mean, it's nine kinds of crazy." He turned to one of the last pages. "But I found this, too."

In black sharpie, ' **Dean 35-111'** was written. Dean leaned forward enough to read the message.

"Now. Both of you're stayin' right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means." Pierce ordered.

==DG==

"I don't know how many times I gotta tell you. It's my high school locker combo." Dean repeated for the hundredth time that night.

Pierce had been interrogating us on this for hours. His _face_ was getting on my nerves. "We gonna do this all night long?"

' _Chuck I hope not. How much longer until Sam fakes the call?'_

As if the writer had heard my thoughts, a deputy walked into the room. "We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road." He reported.

The sheriff eyed Dean and I. "Boy, you have to go to the bathroom?"

"No."

"You little lady?" Pierce asked.

I sent him a look at the nickname. "No."

"Good." He handcuffed Dean to the table. He took the deputy's handcuffs to handcuff me beside Dean.

I waited until he was gone to pull a paper clip from my jean pocket. "This reminds me of that case we had in Nevada last month. Didn't you get me arrested for assault?" I started picking at my lock.

Dean snorted, shaking his head. "Nah. You were arrested because you shot that guy in the foot."

"He was supposed to be a werewolf! How was I supposed to know he just had anger issues?"

==DG==

Once Dean and I made it out, we high tailed it to a phone booth. (Okay, bit of a lie. I had stolen my Bag back first. Wouldn't be my first time taking something from lockup).

He started digging for change to call Sam when I pulled out my phone

"What's happening Sam?" I spoke when he answered.

Dean huffed in annoyance, stuffing change back in his pockets.

"Fake 911 call? Nice touch." I complimented. I put him on speaker, holding my phone up for Dean to hear. "And illegal. Shouldn't that be a big no-no for lawyers?"

" _You're welcome."_ Sam's grin was in his voice.

"Listen, we gotta talk." Dean walked over. He reached for my phone but I pulled it out of his reach.

The two of us fussed over who had control of the phone while Sam spoke. " _Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop."_

"Sammy, would you shut up for a second?" Dean snapped. "Raven give me the phone!"

"It's _my_ phone! You should've grabbed your's when we left!" I snapped back.

" _I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet."_ Sam talked around us.

"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you!" Dean gave up trying to grab the phone. He shrugged uselessly, looking dejected. "He's gone. Dad left Jericho."

"What?" Sam and I asked.

" _How do you know?"_ Sam asked.

"I've got his journal." Dean revealed.

"The numbers..." I pretended to realize. Dean nodded.

" _He doesn't go anywhere without that thing."_ Sam noted.

"Yeah, well, he did this time."

" _What's it say?"_

"Ah, the same old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going." Dean explained.

" _Coordinates._ " Sam recalled. " _Where to?"_

"I'm not sure yet." Dean admitted.

" _I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?"_ Sam asked.

"It _is_ odd that a hunter would-"

The rest of my sentence was cut off by mechanical screeches.

"What was that?" I asked sternly.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean shouted.

" _...take me home."_ A ghostly voice demanded just before the call cut off.

==DG==

We had stolen a car to get to the old Welch house.

Constance was screaming as we arrived. She pulled herself off Sam, quickly going static and evaporating.

Sam looked around in confusion.

Dean went to the trunk to pull out a gun with rock salt.

When Constance came back a second time, she found a way around his jacket. Sam screamed in pain. Dean quickly fired her full of salt.

"I'm taking you home." Sam growled at Constance. He slammed his foot on the gas. He drove the Impala right into the house.

"Sam!" Dean called out.

"Sam! Still alive?" I called out, following Dean inside.

"Sam! You okay?" Dean asked. He made it to the passenger's side of the Impala.

"I think..." Sam groaned.

Dean handed me the rock salt gun. "Can you move?"

"Yeah. Help me?" Sam asked with another pained groan.

Dean nodded. He reached his arm in, pulling Sam out. I kept a watch out for Constance.

She appeared in the room, family painting in her hands. Raising the shotgun, I waited for her to make any move or realize we were here.

Sam was out of the car soon enough. Constance glared at us with her cold black eyes. She threw the painting down on the floor, stepping aside.

As the piece of furniture moved towards us, I tried to fire the shotgun. It was out of ammo. ' _Dammit Dean too many shots to the ghostface!'_ The old wooden furniture pushed me back against the Impala. Sam and Dean groaned beside me.

I tried pushing it off me. Constance was keeping it in place. It was bearing down on my legs. The lights flickered to my relief. Constance was losing concentration, looking up at the lights. I heard water pouring from the staircase.

"You've come home to us, Mommy." Two _scary ass kids_ spoke at the same time.

The two kids appeared beside their mother. She didn't have a chance to run away. Her kids pulled her in for a hug. Constance screamed out in pain as the family brightly vanished into the floor.

All they left behind was a puddle.

"So...this is where she drowned her kids." I noted once we were free.

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them." Sam explained.

Dean grinned at his brother, proud. "You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." He slapped Sam's still injured chest.

The younger brother laughed through the pain. "Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey. Saved your ass." Dean reminded. He elbowed my arm. "She did too. Put some salt on your jacket. Saved your from getting your chest ripped open."

I shrugged. "A mixture I made with salt that keeps ghosts from grabbing you. I put it on your jacket when you were showering." He went over to check on the Impala.

Sam lifted his eyebrows at me. "You made that?"

I nodded. "Has saved my ass-and your brother's-more than enough times."

"I'll tell you another thing." Sam and I turned back to him. Dean was standing at the driver's side. He was glaring at his brother. "If you screwed up my car? I'll kill you."

Sam and I laughed.

"In his defense, Constance drove for most of the way." I excused. "Sam knows this stuff. He's a lawyer."

Sam laughed again.

==DG==

Driving along the highway, our stuff all packed back up, hunt finished, I knew I should feel relaxed. It was hard to feel relaxed knowing someone was dying in a few hours and I was doing nothing against it except eating caramels.

Sam was searching for the coordinates with a ruler and a paper map. He was using a flashlight tucked under his chin, and a pen. "Okay, here's where Dad went." Sam reported. "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."

"Sounds charming. How far?" Dean asked.

"About six hundred miles." Sam admitted. He was already seeing the problem with it.

His brother didn't. "Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning."

"Dean, I, um..." Sam opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right words for I'm abandoning you for my own selfish wants.

Dean stared at him, shocked. "You're not going."

"Your interview's that important, huh?" I asked.

"The interview's in like, ten hours. I gotta be there." The younger excused.

Though Dean didn't say, both Sam and I felt his disappointment at the decision. "Yeah. Yeah, whatever. We'll take you home."

He drove on.

For the rest of the drive, he didn't look at Sam even for a glance.

==DG==

Dean pulled up in front of the apartment a few hours later. It had been an uncomfortably silent ride.

"Call me if you find him?" Sam asked after he climbed out of the car.

Dean only nodded.

"And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?" Sam offered.

"Yeah, all right." But they both knew the chances of that were slim.

Except me.

"Sam?" Dean called out. Sam turned around. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

Sam sucked in his lips. "Yeah."

"It was nice meeting you." I admitted to him. "Wish it was under better circumstances."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Nice meeting you too."

Dean drove off. I watched as Sam's shoulders slumped. Then, he made the climb back to his apartment.

We'd barely left the block before we saw the fire.

Even without turning around I knew it was too late. Jess was gone.

==DG==

I always hated it when the police were gathered around a building like this. It felt like a neon sign saying that I had let that person die.

They were always right.

Sam was glaring at the building as if the bricks and mortar themselves had done this to him.

Dean and I, we were being supportive. We didn't even have to ask Sam if he wanted to get in the car. He was already throwing his backpack in the passenger seat.

"We got work to do." He slammed the trunk shut.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: Holy shit this took awhile. I finally cracked down on writing this thanks for a friend, SkadiLokison, and some writing tips online. My summer has been** _**intense**_ **. Lucky for me college starts in a week!**

 **We've been through a lot. Comic!Con happened. The Tweet happened (it about near killed my friend who is a die-hard Padalecki fan) and Twitter/tumblr exploded. I binged watched Star Trek because it's a gorgeous work of art (yes I ship McKock/McSpirk. OT3 for life!)**

 **Also, Cas, gets your feathery ass back to life or I will drag Chuck back here and MAKE HIM bring you back AGAIN!**

 **Happy birthday to me! This is my present to myself: finished/published chapters!**

 **Thanks to CleanerFuzzball for favoriting**

 **Thanks to Dreamer Miyu, Scribleyellow, mlr96, Juplin, and CleanerFuzzball for following**


	4. Wendigo

Though I had only seen John Winchester on TV, I could see him in the post-Sam.

He was _not_ doing well. He had barely slept. If he ever did, he woke up muttering about fire. It seemed to set him back on the chase fresh as the night it happened. Most waking hours were spent getting any information on Azazel. It was awful to seem him falling apart.

Such as the morning a week after the funeral. He had barely slept the drive over. There was a silent agreement to not disturb Sam whenever he managed to close his eyes. Dean drove on smooth roads, when he could. If there was a plot hole he drove around it. I kept myself in the backseat, quiet as a church mouse. The map was given to me, so Sam didn't need to be the GPS. Any conversation was whispered.

Still, his nightmares woke him up. Our best efforts did nothing against Sam's own mind.

Sam shot up. There was a word caught in his throat, coming out as a pained choked gasp. He blinked hard, rubbing at his eyes. He'd slept for an hour that time.

"Sam?" I quietly asked.

He let out a quick huff. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Sam glanced away, pretending he had no idea what could be wrong. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Another nightmare?" Dean noted, giving Sam a meaningful look.

Sam didn't say ' _no'_.

Dean and I exchanged a short look.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean offered, half awkward.

Sam stared at his brother, surprised. "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that." He stated.

"Just thought you might want to." Dean huffed. "Never mind."

Sam looked between Dean and I. "Look, guys, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

"Mm-hm."

"Gotcha."

Sam wisely did not believe us.

"Alright, where are we?" He asked, reaching for the dashboard only to find the map was in my hands.

"We are just outside of Grand Junction." I reported gleefully. I showed off the giant red X Dean had left.

He shook his head at me. When he tried to take the map, I pulled it away. "You know what guys? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

I rolled my eyes, falling back in my seat.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica-" Dean explained.

"We gotta find Dad first." Sam agreed.

"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence." Dean went on. "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."

I moved forward, holding the map up.

"It's weird, man. These coordinates he left Blackwater Ridge..." I read off.

"What about it?" Dean asked.

"There's nothing there. It's just woods." I pointed at the patch of green on the map. "Why is your father sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Neither brother answered.

==DG==

We drove to the ranger's station.

Once inside, Sam and I looked down at the map. Dean was staring at the decorations on the walls.

"So Blackwater Ridge _is_ pretty remote." Sam stated. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

"Dudes, check out the size of this freaking bear." Dean motioned to a photo he was standing in front of.

I walked up next to him. Seeing the bear, I shrugged. "Meh. Fought bigger."

Dean scoffed. "You did _not_."

"Did _too_ and it could've gotten that bear stuck between it's _teeth_." I bragged. ' _The Red Death wasn't anything to joke about. That scaly white bitch nearly took my arm!'_

Sam stood at my other side. He was looking at Dean and I with what I think is a step below the Bitch-Face TM. "And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure."

"You kids aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" Wilkinson asked, startling the boys.

"Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper." Sam lied easily.

Dean caught on, grinning. "Recycle, man."

"Respect nature." I held up a peace sign.

The sheriff didn't miss a beat. "Bull."

I didn't blink.

"You're friends with that Haley girl, right?" Wilkinson asked.

"Okay _yes._ " I stepped up, putting on my best desperate friend voice. "But-Ranger Wilkinson, Haley's just worried."

"Well I will tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" Wilkinson challenged.

"And I get that, it's just that Haley can't." I explained, sounding exasperated.

"You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine." Wilkinson explained gruffly.

"We will. Well that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?" Dean threw in.

Wilkinson snorted. "That is putting it mildly."

"You know what, maybe it would help if you gave us a copy of his backcountry permit. That way she'd see her brother's return date, and stop worrying. I'm sure she'd understand then."

Wilkinson seemed to think on it.

==DG==

Dean held the permit in his hands. He was laughing. "That, Raven, was awesome."

I smiled proudly at the attention, straightening out my jacket like a hero. "Thanks, Dean. I just pretend to care better than you."

He laughed again.

"What, are you two cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

' _Not to mention I'm offended he thinks I'll screw any woman just because she's a woman.'_

We walked towards our seats.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?" Sam asked snappily.

"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Dean countered.

I bit my lip, trying to keep myself from saying anything.

"What?" Sam asked, catching my look.

"Nothing." I shrugged, pushing my hands in my jacket pockets. "I just thought Dean was the one who was ' _shoot first, ask questions later'_."

Sam narrowed his eyes at me. "He is. But now it's me." He shrunk down (for a man as tall as him, I'm surprised he didn't bang his head against the Impala) to climb in the passenger seat.

His brother snorted. "Really?" He climbed into the driver's seat.

I rolled my eyes. " _Winchesters."_ Then I climbed down in the back seat.

==DG==

The three of us stood at Haley's house. Dean knocked on the door. Haley answered.

' _It's too bad I like blondes. She's actually pretty cute. Oh well, I can still appreciate the art without buying it.'_

"You must be Haley Collins. I'm Dean, this is Sam, that's Raven, we're, ah, we're rangers with the Park Service." Dean explained. "Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother, Tommy."

Haley looked us over. "Lemme see some ID."

Dean pulled his out, pressing it against the screen. My ' _Jordan Ashford'_ was burning a hole in my pocket. Haley stared at Dean's a moment, before opening the door.

"Come on in."

Dean was smiling. "Thanks."

"That yours?" Haley gestures over to the Impala.

Dean grinned, proud of his car. "Yeah."

"Nice car." Haley turned to go inside, not before giving Dean a smile.

Dean turned back to us when she wasn't looking. ' _Oh my god.'_ He mouthed.

I winked. ' _All your's.'_ I mouthed back.

Sam was wishing flames would come from the sky to smight Dean and I so that maybe he could get some shit done.

==DG==

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked.

Haley was setting the table for dinner. Her brother was on his laptop, seemingly tuning us out. "He checks in every day by cell. He emails, photos, stupid little videos-we haven't heard anything in over three days now."

"Have you thought that maybe he doesn't get cell reception?" I asked.

"He's got a satellite phone, too." Haley replied.

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean asked.

"He wouldn't do that." Ben Collins insisted.

There was brief eye contact between Dean and Ben. The younger boy looked back to his laptop.

Haley brought out more food. "Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other." She explained for her brother.

"Do you mind showing me the pictures Tommy sent you?" I asked.

Haley nodded. "Of course. Yeah."

She took a minute to get her laptop out. It barely felt like any time before she had the photos up. Good thing too, I think Dean was drooling staring at the food.

"That's Tommy." She pointed to the smiling man in the tent. She showed us some more photos before reaching the video message.

" _Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."_

A shadow flicked past the tent. I tensed only slightly, standing up straighter. Sam spots the shadow flicking past. Dean "Well, we'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing."

"Then maybe I'll see you there." Dean and Sam raised their eyebrows at her. I grinned, knowingly. Haley just stared the boys down. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."

"I think I know how you feel." Dean mused.

I nodded in agreement.

The two elder siblings had a silent exchange, both standing protectively behind their younger brothers.

"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked, unknowingly cutting off Dean and Haley's connection.

Haley agreed.

==DG==

Dean took us to a bar next. Sam got right on with research.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." He opened his dad's journal.

"Any before that?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack." Sam handed Dean the newspaper articles.

I sat across from them, eating peanuts.

"And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936." Sam reported.

"So every twenty-three years, this thing comes up into the woods looking for a snack, then goes to sleep?" ' _If I didn't know it was a wendigo, I'd start looking for clowns in the sewer.'_

"Exactly." Sam pulled up the video message. "Okay. Watch this. Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out."

He pauses at a specific part in the message. He clicks ahead three times, showing off the shadow moving across the tent in the background.

"Play it back."

Sam does so.

"That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move." Sam noted.

Dean slapped his brother's arm. Sam looked at him in confusion. "Told you something weird was going on."

Sam wasn't as amused. It made me snort. "Yeah." He clapped his laptop shut, putting it away in his backpack. "I got one more thing." He gave me the newspaper article. I gave it a brief glance before passing it to Dean. "In 'fifty-nine one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."

"Is there a name?"

I pointed it out for him.

==DG==

Shaw lived a few minutes away.

He lived in this ratty old house, it smelled as awful as you'd think. He'd welcomed us into his home, so I said nothing to his face.

"Look, rangers, I don't know why you're asking me about this. It's public record." Shaw pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a-"

"Grizzly? That's what attacked them?" Sam interrupted.

Shaw nodded.

"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean asked. Shaw was silent. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?" Again, Shaw was silent. "We knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it." Dean suggested.

Shaw pulled his cig out of his mouth. "I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make." Shaw sits down. Shaw "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."

I set myself across from him. "Mr Shaw, what did you see?" I asked, using all the skills I had as an FBI agent.

Shaw seemed to fight it. He glanced at my eyes, pausing. Something in there must have shown him my belief. "Nothing." He began. Behind me, I heard Sam move forward. "It moved too fast to see." Sam stopped, my guess he was surprised. "It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like...no man or animal I ever heard."

"It came at night?" I asked. Shaw nodded, the memories playing behind his eyes. "Found you where you slept?"

Shaw nodded again. "It got inside our cabin. I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?" My voice was kind, understanding, insistent.

"Dragged them off into the night." He seemed to stare off. I swear I could see the memory of that night, see his own fear as he heard his parents' screams then all the blood. "Why it left me alive...been asking myself that ever since." He reached up for his collar. "Did leave me this, though."

He showed off three long scars.

Some of my own scars ached in sympathy.

"There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon." Shaw finished.

' _Knowing Azazel, I wouldn't put it past him.'_

==DG==

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors." Dean reasoned as we went back into our motel room. "If they want inside, they just go through the walls."

' _Not the polite ones. Thank you, Crowley...did I just thank a demon? Dammit that's what he gets for being nice!'_

"So it's probably something else, something corporeal." Sam continued.

"Corporeal? Excuse me, professor." Dean teased.

"Hey it's not _that_ complicated a word." I defended, but I was grinning.

Sam rolled his eyes all the same. "Shut up. So what do you think?"

"The claws, the speed that it moves...could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog." Dean thought out loud.

"Mm, no. None of these attacks are canine in nature. There's a reason they keep saying ' _bear attack'_ and not ' _wolf'_." I explained. "There is _something_ this reminds me of, but my mind just isn't connecting it."

"Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature, and it's _corporeal_." Dean admitted. "Which means we can kill it."

==DG==

Dean started packing guns in the duffel bag. The other duffel bag I packed with matchboxes, and flare guns. You can find _a lot_ of weird stuff at a motel gift shop.

As we packed, Sam arrived. "We _cannot_ let that Haley girl go out there." He spoke with some long suffering tone.

I scoffed. "Good luck telling her that. Her brother is missing, and the rangers won't listen to her. She's not exactly going to stop because we tell her too."

"We still need to keep her out of this." San argued.

"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" Dean asked, sarcastically.

"Yeah." Sam answered, not sarcastically.

Dean stared at Sam as if the boy had gone insane. It reminded me of those episodes in old cartoons, when a weird science experimented would switch the brains of two characters so they both had to be each other. Except here, Dean seemed to be the only brother that noticed. Then again, as much as Dean denied it, he was always more of a lover than a fighter.

"Her brother's missing, Sam. She's not gonna just sit this out. Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend." Dean lifted up the packed duffel bag.

"Finding Dad's not enough?" The younger brother honest to Chuck _whined._ He slammed the trunk shut with such force I backed away in case of Dean Baby Rage. "Now we gotta babysit too?"

Dean _stared_ again at his brother. I looked on, not matching up this Sam with the one I had net last week.

Sam gave us humoring looks. "What?"

' _You sound like John Winchester.'_ I realized. The John that hated bringing kids on a hunt, the John that always told Dean to ' _man up'_ and keep his brother out of danger.

Dean shrugged. "Nothing." He threw the bag at Sam.

Sam caught it, glaring at Dean as he walked to the driver's seat. When Sam went to glare at me, I lifted my hands up.

"I'm not getting involved in whatever this is." I went towards the back seat, keeping my bag close.

==DG==

' _Oh look. Another glorious morning.'_ I glared at the bright sun overhead. ' _Makes me sick.'_

Dean pulled up to the small group. I could see Haley, Ben, and the man I recognized as Roy.

As we moved from the motel to the woods, I changed into more hiking appropriate clothes. I had on khaki shorts, bug spray, a tan tank top, a flannel jacket, and hiking boots.

It had been funny to Dean sneak glances in the mirror, then pretend he wasn't sneaking glances. Every time I caught him, I whacked the back of his head.

Hopping out of the car, I watched Dean swagger up to the search party.

"You guys got room for three more?" He asked with his usual ' _grown five-year-old_ ' attitude.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Haley asked.

"Who are these people?" Roy asked Haley.

Haley answered over her shoulder. "Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue."

"You're rangers?" Roy looked us all over.

"That's right." Dean grinned.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Haley asked, skeptical.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." Dean stated, walking up to where Sam was.

"They're new." I excused, shrugging at Haley. This didn't help her opinion of us.

"What, you think this is funny? It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt." Roy snapped at Dean and I.

"Believe me, I know how dangerous this could get." Dean argued. "We just wanna help her find her brother, that's all." He went up to Sam.

Giving a last look to the Collins clan, I caught up with the Winchesters.

==DG==

We'd been hiking for upwards of three hours, probably closer to four now that I think about it. We hadn't gotten close to the cave, then again I know _nothing_ about hiking so maybe we were close.

I _do_ know that it was cold, with it being early November and the mountains. It felt _great_ , I'd always loved the cold.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting." Dean asked.

"Yeah, more than a little." Roy answered. He had been guiding us. The Collins could probably do this themselves, if they camped often enough.

"Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?" Dean asked.

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear." Roy was more focused on the hike than on Dean's stupid questions.

"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Dean teased.

Before he could take another step, Roy pulled him back. "Whatcha doing, Roy?" Dean asked.

Roy tossed a stick down on the bear trap. It clapped shut, right where Dean's foot had almost stepped. "You should watch where you're stepping. Ranger." He went back on.

The older Winchester turned back to us. "It's a bear trap."

Behind me, I felt Sam's bitch face.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers." Haley listed. She pulled Dean back. "So who the hell are you?"

Sam and I paused, looking at Dean asking if he needed backup. Dean nodded for us to go forward.

I walked alongside Sam.

For awhile, we just walked. At one point I felt it was a good idea to start a conversation. "So...Sam, I was wondering-"

"You don't have to do Dean's dirty work." Sam interrupted. He pulled the duffle bag tighter on his back. "I'm not some helpless kid."

I blinked at him in surprise. "Okay, _whoa_. That is _not_ what I'm doing. I just wanted to talk about what we're hunting." My eyes gave him a once over. "You don't have to jump down my throat."

Sam sighed. He reached up, punching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah well I don't walk to talk. About anything. I just want to get this over with."

"Right." Sucking my lips, I slowly went along with his BS. "I get it. Because when my sister died, I couldn't talk to _anyone_." Sam groaned silently. "Not unless _I_ started the conversation. Even that, it had to last a minute or else the other person was in danger of being punched."

"Yeah well I bet _you_ didn't have to chase the thing that killed her." Sam ranted.

"I did." I stated, starting to feel detached. "Then I ripped his heart out."

"So you understand why this is so important! We shouldn't be in the woods, we should be looking for Dad then going after what killed Jess!" Sam ranted.

"Sam I _regret_ what I did to him." I admitted, hand on my heart. "Oh he needed to be stopped, as awful as he was, but I shouldn't have fought so hard to kill him-"

This made Sam cut me off with a disbelieving snort. "You know what, Raven? I didn't ask you." He marched further ahead.

Sighing at my own stupidity at bringing it up, I hung my head in defeat.

Branches crunched behind me. Looking back, I saw Dean there with a confused look on his face. he came up to my side. He nodded towards his brother. "What's got his panties in a twist?"

Letting out another puff of air, I pulled my bag higher up on my shoulder. "Your dad better be in town. I don't think your brother can take this for much longer."

Dean's face tightened in held back concern for his brother. Candy apple eyes looked ahead, like looking at Sam would make a solution clear.

==DG==

It was another cold two hours of walking before we made it to the Ridge.

"This is it. Blackwater Ridge." Roy informed.

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked.

Roy checked the GPS. "Thirty-five and minus one-eleven."

I stood up beside Sam, Dean taking his other side. "You hear that?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." I agreed. "Nothing."

"Not even crickets." Sam commented.

"I'm gonna go take a look around." Roy decided.

The three of us turned to him. "You shouldn't go off by yourself." Sam suggested, or maybe warned?

"That's sweet. Don't worry about me." Roy scoffed at us. He showed off his gun, pushing between the boys to take the lead.

' _Rude bastard.'_ Was my first thought. ' _You're lucky I don't want you to die.'_

Dean turned to the Collins'. "All right, everybody stays together. Let's go."

==DG==

Roy led us to the campsite. "Haley! Over here!" He shouted.

Haley had been looking over a giant rock, but she ran towards Roy's voice. When we caught up with her, it was too a horrific sight.

"Oh my God." Haley gasped.

The campsite reminded me of crime scenes I had seen over the years. The tent was torn to shreds. Some parts of it were soaked in blood. There wasn't any dead bodies, though based on the amount of blood they didn't have long.

"Looks like a grizzly." Roy noted.

"Tommy?" The female Collins started shouting. "Tommy!"

While Sam went to calm Haley, I followed the wendigo's trail. There was some heavy dirt prints that _could_ be mistaken for bear prints..

"See that?" Dean pointed at a steak of kicked up dirt.

"Yeah." I nodded, pointing at my streak. "And that."

"Sam!" Dean called back.

Sam came over.

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite." Dean pointed at a spot on the ground. "But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." Dean huffed. "Raven was right, it's no skinwalker or black dog."

"Generally." I walked back to the campsite, seeing Haley crying over Tom's phone. "Hey." She looked up at me. "Have some faith. There's a chance he's still love."

Her eyes were filling with angry tears now.

The wendigo started screaming in the woods. "Help! Help!"

Everyone stood up on their feet. _Roy_ foolishly lead them after it. I followed, if only because I didn't want to be left alone with the wendigo.

When we made it to it's clearing, it was empty.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley asked us.

There was another beat of silence. Then Sam got a clue. "Everybody back to camp."

Our group ran back. All of the supplies the others left behind were gone. I held mine tighter to my back.

Haley gasped in dismay. "Our packs!"

Roy crouched down near where our packs _had_ been. "So much for my GPS and my satellite phone."

"What the hell is going on?" Haley asked.

"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help." Sam kept trying to find the answer, pointing to the obvious answer left.

"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear." Roy falsely corrected.

Sam couldn't stand the stupidity at camp. He went to Dean, then myself.

"I need to speak with you two. In private." He stormed away from camp.

' _Well not that strong, but anything looks like storming out when you're that tall.'_

We walked far enough from camp that we could hear anything, but not so they could hear us.

"Let me see Dad's journal." Sam demanded.

Dean did so.

Sam rifled through the pages before finding the one he wanted. "Alright, check that out." He showed off the poorly drawn wendigo.

"Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan." Dean argued. "I've never even heard of one this far west."

"Dean, this is the only thing that makes sense." I tried to convince. "The claws, the unlocking of doors, we just heard it mimic a human voice!"

The older brother scoffed. "Great." He pulled out his pistol. "Well then this is useless."

Sam stormed back off to camp. "We gotta get these people to safety."

I pulled the matches and lighters from my bag. Dean stared at me in surprise. "Why do you have those?" He asked.

"I didn't think either of you could start a campfire." Was my sort of honest answer. Dean gave me a look. I leaned in so Sam wouldn't hear. "Or that neither of you would want to." He understood.

Dean got it.

Both of us went back to camp. Sam was giving a _completely idiotic_ speech.

"All right, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten...more complicated." Sam ordered.

"What?" Haley gawked.

"Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it." Roy assured.

"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now." Sam ordered, more stern.

"One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders." Roy snapped.

"Relax." Dean tried to placate the rising tensions.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you." Sam snapped.

Roy stepped up into Sam's face. "You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."

Oh that set him off. "Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here."

' _Dear Chuck. If Sam could hear himself right now, he'd call himself a bitch.'_

The non-supernatural laughed mockingly. "You know you're crazy, right?"

"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen-"

Sam was pushed back by Dean. "Roy!" Haley chided. Her brother seemed to snap out of whatever music haze he had been in for most of the hike up here.

"Chill out." Dean ordered Sam. The young ex Stanford student huffed, still gearing for a fight.

"Stop. Stop it. Everybody just stop!" Haley shouted. "Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."

I watched Dean accept that they couldn't turn back. Sam, on the other hand, was probably thinking of ways to break away from the camp to keep the civilians out of it.

Dean decided to just go for broke. "It's getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night." He explained. "We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?" Haley asked.

==DG==

The sun had set hours ago. There was a campfire in the middle of our camp.

I had just finished carving a protective Anasazi symbol when Ben came up behind me.

"What does that do?" Ben asked, kneeling down to get a better look.

"It's an Anasazi symbol of protection." I explained, pointing at a view trees. "I carved them in some trees too, just in case."

Ben nodded though I'm sure he still had no idea. "And this will keep that...thing...from getting us? Like it got Tommy?"

I paused for a second, adjusting myself. Crouching wasn't an easy pose to keep for long. "Hey, don't lose hope. Your brother is alive, I need you to believe that."

The youngest Collins nodded.

Off to the side, Dean was teaching the same thing to Haley.

This left Sam alone with Roy. The guide snickered at us. I could see rage about to go off in Sam's eyes.

Dean saw it too. "Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." He walked over towards Sam. I stayed where I was, close enough to hear what they were saying. "You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?"

Sam mentally groaned. "Dean-"

"No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man, it's not like you." Dean laughed, derisively. "I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"

There was a heavy pause as I waited for Sam's answer. When it came, it was like he didn't want it to be in his mouth. The words were hollow, empty except for that slow heating anger behind them.

"Dad's not here." He stared off into the dark woods, fists clenching and unclenching. "I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?"

"Yeah, you're probably right." His brother agreed, his tone nonchalant as if they had missed a turn instead of their father. "Tell you the truth, I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."

"Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road. Go find Dad. I mean, why are we still even here?"

' _Sam.'_ I was disgusted. ' _Can you hear yourself? Leave a family broken? Leave two men to die? Who...who am I_ looking at _right now?'_

"This is why." Dean showed Sam the journal. "This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession-everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off." I leaned in more, keeping myself from being known. "You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business."

"That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just call us?" Sam argued. "Why doesn't he tell us what he wants, tell us where he is?"

"I dunno. But the way I see it, Dad's giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it." Dean stated, making me smile. _That_ was the Dean I knew. I stood up, watching Haley and Ben sit in front of the fire.

"Dean...no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer." Sam insisted. "It's the only thing I can think about."

"Okay, all right, Sam, we'll find them, I promise. Listen to me." Sam looked up at Dean. "You've gotta prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man."

His brother shook his head, sadness heavy on his shoulders. "How do you do it? How does _Dad_ do it?"

"Well for one, them." Dean looked over to Haley and Ben. I smirked at him, adding a nod. "I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable. I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."

Sam finally smiled.

==DG==

Then the wendigo called for help again.

Reaching in my bag, I pulled out the flare gun. Dean came back from his chick-flick love fest, pulling out his gun.

"Help!" The wendigo screamed again.

"He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put." Dean advised.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy snarked.

"Help! Help me!" The wendigo cried out. It cut itself off with a hideous sounding growl.

"Okay, that's no grizzly." Roy admitted. He aimed his rifle in the direction of the growling.

"That's only gonna make it angry, Roy." I warned.

He cocked it.

Behind me, I heard Haley assuring Ben. "It's okay. You'll be alright, I promise."

The bushes moved again.

"It's here." Sam told Dean and I.

I tried to aim at it with the flare gun. The problem was, if I missed then the trees around us could go up in flames. So there was _one shot_.

"Got it!" I fired the pistol the same time Roy fired.

"I hit it!" He shouted.

We both had.

The wendigo shrieked in pain. It was hard to see it in the dark but I saw the flames on it. I pulled out another flare gun.

Roy ran out to see his hunt. I chased after him.

"Roy, Raven, no! Roy!" Dean shouted. "Don't move."

I chased after Roy.

"It's over here! It's in the tree!" The wendigo called out.

I raised the flare gun. As the wendigo reached down, I fired at its arm.

It screeched again. It pulled away from us, running off into the night.

"Raven!" Dean shouted. He and Sam entered the clearing, only to stop after seeing We were fine.

Roy stared up at the tree, shocked. I looked down to him. "We told you to stay in the magic circle." I threw the flare gun at him.

He failed to catch it.

I stormed off back to camp.

==DG==

The sun was up now.

No one had slept after the wendigo attacked.

Especially not Roy, the man that had nearly died last night. He was being more mature about the whole thing.

"I don't...I mean, these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real." Haley muttered.

"I wish I could tell you different." Dean shrugged.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?" Haley asked.

"We don't. But we're safe for now." Dean stated.

"How do you know about this stuff?" Haley asked.

Dean paused. "Kind of runs in the family." He half joked.

"Hey." Sam stepped up towards the middle of camp. "So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch."

"Well, hell, you know I'm in." Dean stated.

"Same here." I nodded.

Sam smirked at us. He pulled out the wendigo page in the journal. He showed it to the Collins' and Roy. "' _Wendigo'_ is a Cree Indian word. It means ' _evil that devours'_." He explained.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man." Dean went on. "Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter."

"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Roy asked, looking horrified at the question and disgusted at the idea of the answer.

"It's always the same story." I began. "During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner Party." Ben mused.

I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just smirked at Ben.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities." Sam explained. "Speed, strength, immortality."

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry." Dean went on.

"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Haley asked, voice shaking at the end.

"You're not gonna like it." Dean warned.

"Tell me." Haley insisted.

"More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants." Dean explained. "If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there."

Haley was covering her dismay really well.

"And then how do we stop it?" Roy asked.

"Well, guns are useless, so are knives. Basically-" Dean held up lighter fluid, a beer bottle, and a white cloth. "We gotta torch the sucker." He nodded at me. "You still got the flare guns?"

"Yeah. And I've got some extra ammo in my bag." I tossed one gun to Dean. He caught it.

He grinned at the gun. "Awesome."

==DG==

Roy let Dean lead. Or at least that's what Roy said as Dean marched off into the woods. I let him keep his pride, though he followed behind me. I followed behind Haley.

We'd been tracking it for hours. It was afternoon before things got interesting.

Sam had walked ahead, searching for the tracks. "Dean, Raven." Sam called out.

Dean and I ran ahead to him.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"He found tracks." I mused, looking up at the bloody claw marks.

"You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct. They were almost too easy to follow." Sam remarked.

I let out a huff.

The wendigo rushed by some bushes. The group jumped back. I stood in place, looking up at clouds wondering if Chuck thought this was funny or not.

"Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" Dean ordered. He started pushing the group on, breaking me out of my anti-Chuck thoughts.

The group split apart in all the chaos of running away. Dean and Sam with Ben, myself with Haley and Roy. Oh yeah that's not gonna end in disaster.

I lead the two of them through the woods. The wendigo was jumping from tree to tree overhead.

Then it jumped down. It snarled I'm out faces.

Roy, Haley and I froze.

It grabbed me, then tossed me over it's back.

Haley screamed.

It picked Roy up with it's unburnt hand. It flicked it's wrist, snapping Roy's neck with an awful crunch. Once that was handled, it grabbed Haley

We were gone before the Winchesters arrived.

==DG==

The sweet serenade of a moose and squirrel brought me back to conscious.

' _And I'm gonna kill 'um for it_.' I thought, struggling against the wire on my wrists. ' _As soon as I get out of these things!'_

The memories of what happened before I woke up came back. The wendigo, Roy dying, Haley screaming- _Haley!_

"Hey, you okay?" Dean asked, checking my neck for a pulse.

' _Holy fuck shit no.'_ I winced in pain. "Think so." My focus moved over to the Collins family.

"Haley, Haley, wake up, wake up!" Ben pleaded.

Sam pulled out a blade, quickly using it to cut the wire. I fell on the floor in a heap. A grunt of pain burst up from my throat. The wendigo had left cuts on my body that didn't appreciate being rubbed in dirt.

The boys lifted me up. They walked me over to a much nicer path of dirt.

"You sure you're all right?" Sam asked, lowering me to the ground.

"Fine. Where is that son of a bitch?" I seethed.

"He's gone for now." Dean answered, sounding ready to tear it apart.

"Tommy..." Haley's voice echoed. Looking over at it, I saw Haley touch her brother's cheek.

The man jerked awake.

"Cut him down!" Haley ordered the Winchester's.

Sam did so. Dean stayed by me, checking the stolen bags of supplies near me.

I chuckled when he pulled out the flare guns.

"Check it out." Dean called out to his brother. Sam turned to see Dean and I holding flares.

"More flare guns. Perfect." Sam helped keep Tommy on his feet.

So six of us were making our way out. Dean lead the group, flare gun in hand. I walked on his side. Sam held up the rear. The Collins family was in the middle, supporting their brother.

The wendigo had noticed we were gone. It growled loudly.

"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean joked.

"We'll never outrun it." Haley voiced.

Dean seemed to agree. He looked to Sam and me. "Either of you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, I think so." Sam nodded.

"And if you survive, I'm punching you for it." I warned.

Dean just smirked.

"All right, listen to me. Stay with Sam and Raven. They're gonna get you out of here." He advised Haley and Ben.

"What are you gonna do?" Haley asked.

He winked, then started yelling. "Chow time, you freaky bastard! Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby, I'm feeling good." He ran after the wendigo.

Once he was far enough that we couldn't hear his words, Sam and I led the Collins family out to safety.

"All right, come on! Hurry!"

"We don't have much time."

They pulled their brother along for the ride.

For two, maybe three minutes, we were doing okay. The wendigo must have realized I was in this group. It growled from further in the tunnel.

"Get him outta here." Sam insisted.

"Sam, Raven, no." Haley pleaded.

"Go now! Do it!" I ordered.

Ben began guiding them out. "Come on, Haley!"

With a look of sadness, Haley joined her brothers in leaving.

Sam and I hid in the tunnel, listening for its footsteps.

"Come on. Come on." Sam grunted in impatience.

The growling was closer. And wetter.

There was this ' _oh shit'_ moment, like when you're in a horror movie and realize the killer is right behind you. That's what this felt like.

Sam and I turned around.

The wendigo roared at us. It was still pissed off I burned his arm

Sam fired, hitting rocks. I fired, probably would've hit his arm if it wasn't already burnt to a crisp.

"Sam! Raven!" Haley cried out.

We ran to her.

"Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry." Sam lifted up Tommy, trying to encourage a faster pace.

There was sunlight just a few meters away. The wendigo was nearly on us.

They run to the end of the tunnel, the wendigo right behind.

"Get behind us." Sam ordered, moving to protect the Collins. I stood beside, holding up the flare gun for when I had a shot.

It came closer. Closer. Closer. Still no shot.

"Hey!"

It moved to face Dean. It gave us both space to fire. The hunter didn't hesitate firing a flare right in its stomach. I set one off into its neck. The flares went off, torching the bastard.

"Not bad, huh?" Dean smirked.

I smirked. "I hate you." I laughed.

==DG==

 _Finally_ we were out of the woods. I'd never been happier to be back in civilization.

Dean had patched up my cuts on the way back. None of them had been infected, by some miracle. My hiking clothes were toast, though. Not that I had much use for them anyway.

The rangers called in an ambulance for Tommy. He was being checked up, before being driven to the hospital.

Ben was giving a statement about the attack. Sam stood behind him, as support. Ben was saying it was a bear.

Haley and Dean were...I guess flirting?

I didn't care either way. Walking from the ranger's station, having dressed back into clean none shredded clothes.

When I got to the police cars, Haley had just kissed Dean on the cheek.

"I hope you find your father." Haley and Ben went to climb in the the ambulance. "Thanks, Sam. You too, Raven."

I waved, sitting on the hood of the Impala. Sam and Dean joined me.

The doors shut.

My hands clapped on their shoulders. "Either of you take me camping again, I'll make you wish the wendigo had eaten you."

The boys snorted.

"Man, I hate camping." Dean remarked.

"Me too." Sam spoke.

The three of us laughed, without real mirth.

"You boys are gonna find your dad, I know you will."

"Yeah?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." I elbowed Sam. "You're both too stubborn to quit."

Sam agreed. "Yeah, I know. But in the meantime? I'm driving."

Dean gave his brother the keys, with little fight.

The three of us went to our respective doors. We climbed inside, slamming our doors in sync.

I stopped, as Sam turned the car on. I leaned in towards Dean. "Dude. We did that _at the same time."_

Dean smirked. "I know."

We first bumped at the coolness.

Sam was silently hoping my injuries would make me pass out, and that Dean would follow.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: Sorry this took awhile. I'm in a sorta fight with my friend, we're in limbo at the moment. Bright side, I finished my first session of my new college!**

 **Thanks to Irrelevant86 for following**


	5. Dead In The Water

By the following week, the John Winchester case had not progressed. There had been no sign of the patriarch.

We'd stopped at a diner. Nothing out of the usual from our route. My back had started to cramp from being stuck in the backseat for so long. Any excuse to be in a place where I could walk was a welcome one.

Dean had just started looking for new hunts. He'd circled some of the more interesting ones. I was reading them over too, just in case. After all my time in law enforcement I knew which ones were supernatural and which were just human being weird. I crossed out some of those ones that Dean circled.

"What?" Dean asked when he noticed what I'd done. "Come on, that's one of our's."

"It's really not." I assured, stirring my milkshake with my straw.

"It's a werewolf." Dean argued. He pointed at the reference of a missing heart in the article. "See? Missing heart, and a full moon."

I shook my head. "They found her body at night, but she was killed in the late afternoon."

"She was in an astronomy club." Dean pointed out. "They do nerd stuff with stars at night. Perfect for a werewolf."

"She was probably _planning_ a viewing for the full moon." I explained. "Setting up, or whatever. Humans get weird around this time of month too. Her heart wasn't missing. Just every other part of her chest."

"How can you know that?" Dean asked, skeptical.

I pointed at some phrases in the article. "It _sounds_ like an animal attack, but really it's just a guy who got to excited with a knife." I took a sip of my big chocolate. "Plus I called the police in that city in the bathroom and they confirmed it."

Dean grunted in annoyance. He'd had this conversation with me a lot in the past few months.

"It was awesome. I felt like Jessica Jones, in that comic where she's on the toilet." I laughed into my hot chocolate.

That made him laugh. That's Dean, such a geek. I won the last argument because I used Batman. Jessica won today because Dean thought she was a badass. I take complete credit for introducing him to Jessica Jones.

Dean and I were still laughing about it when Wendy came up.

"Can I get you anything else?" Wendy asked us.

Dean stuck his pen in his mouth when he looked up at Wendy. I bit my bottom lip, trying so _very_ hard not to objectify Wendy. Especially with her boobs _right_ in my face.

"Just the check, please." Sam interrupted as he sat down.

The waitress smiled, confused but going with it. "Okay." She went back to the kitchen.

Dean groaned silently. I merely wrote it off as a lost cause to start with. "You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while." He pointed with the pen towards Wendy. "That's fun."

"He's got a point though." I murmured. Dean gawked at my betrayal. "I mean, just _look_ at all the work we have to do." That got rid of the betrayed face, now it was a snort of humor.

Sam was annoyed at me, probably on principle.

To make peace, Dean handed him the newspaper. "Here, take a look at this, I think I got one." Dean began. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water; nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Weird, right? They buried an empty coffin." I stated. "Most families do it for closure-"

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Raven. Other people just stop looking for them." Sam snapped at me.

I stared at him, surprised again at the rudeness.

"Something you want to say to us?" Dean intervened.

"The trail for Dad. It's getting colder every day." Sam ranted at his brother.

"Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. Something. Anything." Sam fumed.

I let out a small huff. On the show, this argument had a lot more worth and value. Now it was just _repetitive_.

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do? That Raven wasn't sticking around to help us?" Dean inquirer.

"Yeah, I know you do, her too, it's just-"

"I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies." Dean snapped at Sam. I sat back in my chair, fiddling with my watch. Watching it tick was less awkward than being stuck in this argument. "We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?"

I glanced over at Wendy, mentally praying for her to come save me from a Winchester argument. In honesty, it was hard to be really annoyed with them when their voices were so squeaky compared to season eight.

She walked by. The only saving grace from today.

 _(Was that an angel pun? Probably not...I'll count it anyway)_

"Alright, Lake Manitoc." Sam agreed. "Hey!"

"Huh?"

"Wasn't lookin'." _I like blondes, okay? Shut up._

Sam was _that close_ to hurting us with a diner fork. "How far?"

==DG==

In no time at all, Dean was pulling up to Bill Carlton's house. We told Will that we were with US wildlife. He showed us to his dad.

Bill looked more depressed than he had in the show. I would have felt bad if he hadn't killed Peter. Though as anger as I was about him and Jake's decisions, I couldn't say he deserved this. _Sophie_ didn't deserve this.

Will pointed off in the distance, towards the lake. "She was about a hundred yards out. That's where she got dragged down." Will explained.

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub." Will answered.

"So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Sam asked.

"No, that's what I'm telling you." Will huffed in rising annoyance.

"Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?" I asked.

"No. Again, she was really far out there." Will repeated. He was becoming more distressed by our questions.

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean asked.

"No, never. Why? Why, what do you think's out there?" Will asked, concerned.

Dean shook his head. "We'll let you know as soon as we do." Dean turned back towards the Impala. I followed behind him.

"What about your father?" Sam asked suddenly. Dean paused. I eyed Sam, cautious. "Can we talk to him?"

Will looked back at his father. Bill hadn't moved once, still staring out at the lake. "Look, if you don't mind, I mean...he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

"We understand." Sam turned back to the car.

Dean let out the stress in his shoulders. I kept my eyes on Sam.

==DG==

Walking into a police station with the Winchesters was a lot like walking opening a pack of gum in a classroom.

It felt that way, at least. My eyes kept glancing to the officers, waiting for one of them to notice us then arrest us. This was an awkward fun feeling.

So Dean told Sheriff Jake why we were here. I fought a giddy smile.

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" Sheriff Jake asked. He opened the swinging gate for us. I walked alongside Sam.

"You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister." Sam prompted.

"Like what?" Jake asked as he led us into his office. "Here, sit, please. There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake." He winced, seeing his two chairs. He looked over at me. "Hey sorry, I've only got two. I can get three-"

"Nah, I'll stand." I offered. While the brothers sat in the chairs, I stayed by the door. No way was I sitting down with this man, not after what he did.

Sheriff Jake wanted to protest, Sam did too. Dean just went along with it. He took one of them, not blinking. Sam let out a quick sigh when he took the other chair.

"You were saying?" I prompted.

The Sheriff huffed. "There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster."

"Yeah. Right." Dean laughed. I did too.

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still-" He finally sat down in his chair. "We dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird, though, I mean, that's, that's the third missing body this year." Dean pointed out.

"I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about." Jake replied.

"I know." Dean nodded.

"Anyway..." Jake let out a long suffered sigh. "All this...it won't be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Well, the dam, of course." Jake replied.

"Of course, the dam. It's, uh, it sprung a leak." Dean joked.

"It's falling apart, and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town, either." Jake gave the three of us careful looks. "But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that."

"Exactly." Dean grinned.

There was a knock on the door behind me. I jumped back, my hair flying out around my face as I did.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" Andrea apologized.

I brushed my hair back into place while Dean and Sam stood.

"I can come back later." Andrea started backing away from the door.

"Gentlemen, ma'am, this is my daughter." Sheriff Jake introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean." Dean reached out to take Andrea's hand. She accepted it.

"Andrea Barr. Hi." Andrea smiled politely.

"Hi." Dean smiled, flirty.

"Raven." I greeted, shaking her hand.

Andrea shook mine back, glancing to Dean with light in her eyes. A part of me should feel ignored, I knew. But this was Coulson's _Cellist_ , so I wasn't going there.

"They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake." Jake informed her.

Her expression dropped. "Oh."

Lucas walked in after that. My first instinct was to kneel down, then pull him in for a big hug. The second was to bring Andrea into the hug, to bring her comfort from another mom. The third was that normal humans wouldn't do that for introductions.

"Oh, hey there. What's your name?" Dean greeted.

Lucas, without acknowledging anyone in the room, left the way he came. Andrea looked at us. Her expression apologetic.

"His name is Lucas." Jake explained.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have." Jake walked over to his door. He made it clear he meant for us to leave. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

I smiled warmly. It slipped into a teasing grin when Dean turned to Andrea. "Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?" Dean requested.

"Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south." Andrea listed.

"Two-would you mind showing us?" Dean asked, much to Sam's dismay and my joy.

Andrea, however, laughed. "You want me to walk you two blocks?"

"Not if it's any trouble." Dean asked.

"I'm headed that way anyway." Andrea explained. She turned to Jake while Dean turned to us. He winked. I winked back. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." Andrea knelt down to her son. "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?" She kissed her son on the head. The boy continued to color.

' _Dammit...he's reminding me of my own kid.'_ I thought.

It was true. Back Home, my daughter was no doubt filling up coloring books by the hour. She did that a lot after her aunt died. Her pictures were mostly about her departed aunt, sometimes about the man that killed her.

I'd thought after a few months in _Rise of the Guardians_ put Lilac someplace emotional stable. She'd continued to draw, except this time there were _more_ drawings of Darcy.

She walked with us to the door. Dean waved at Jake.

"Thanks again." Sam called back.

"Yeah. Big help!" I added.

So Andrea was then walking across the street. If I didn't know Dean would try flirting with her, I'd be annoyed.

"So, cute kid." Dean complimented awkwardly.

"Thanks." Andrea replied in short.

I had to clamp my lips together to keep from laughing. Sam had no such qualms show his emotions: _little brother who's big brother is an idiot_.

"Kids are the best, huh?" Dean praised to my joy and Sam's annoyance.

Andrea didn't signify that with a response.

' _I'm so proud.'_

She was silent the rest of the walk to Lakefront.

"There it is. Like I said, two blocks." Andrea supplied at Dean's confused expression.

Sam and I, standing behind Andrea, gave Dean a matching look. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thank you." ' _The look on Dean's face has given me renewed purpose in life. Thank you.'_

"Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line." Andrea commented. She walked off. "Enjoy your stay!"

' _I was wrong._ That _look on Dean's face has given me renewed purpose! Praise you, Andrea!'_

I laughed as soon as Andrea was out of earshot.

"' _Kids are the best'_? You don't even like kids." Sam told Dean.

"I love kids." Dean argued, sounding offended.

"Name three children that you even know." Sam challenged.

Dean thinks and comes up empty. Sam waves a hand and walks into the motel. Dean scratches his head. "I'm thinking!" Dean argued. I laughed again. "You don't know any either!"

"I can name eighteen without any mental strain." I replied. Dean was surprised. "How many times do I have to tell you I have a life before you believe it?"

"No." Dean shook his head. "I'll never believe it."

I punched his arm, chuckling. Walking after Sam I called over my shoulder "Kiss my ass."

==DG==

Sam checked us into our motel room. Once coming into the room, I tossed my stuff on the bed before Dean could take it. Sam took his laptop out, typing away. Dean came up two minutes later. He groaned when he saw I had claimed a bed.

"Really, Raven?" He groaned.

I smiled innocently. "The second one is still up for grabs. Sasquatch hasn't taken it."

As if realizing the fatal mistake, Sam's head popped up. He and Dean made eye contact.

I snickered as I started a mental countdown. The two were about to brawl for that bed.

Dean leapt on it. Sam leapt on him. I laughed, pulling out my phone to take a picture before either of them could win/notice.

It was the funniest five minutes of my life.

By the time I stopped laughing, the boys were settled. Dean was unpacking his clothes for later. Sam was on his laptop.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year." Sam reported.

"Any before that?" Dean asked.

"Uh, yeah." Sam replied. "Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."

"So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean asked.

"Doubt it." I spoke up.

Dean raised an eyebrow at me. "You're not giving me _anything_."

"Wonder why." I mused. "The lake monster theory would be better if there were more accounts of it."

"How do you know there aren't any?" dean countered.

"Sam's face, for one." I pointed out. "There's also nobody talking about it. Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it."

"She's right." Sam pointed at the screen for Dean. His brother looked over his shoulder to see.

"Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr." Dean motioned to the screen. "Where have I heard that name before?"

"Christopher Barr, the victim in May." Sam read off. "Oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued. Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."

"That poor boy..." My mother's heart was pained at the thought at of a child witnessing this.

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out." Dean had his face twisted in empathy. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

' _Which reminds me. I should make sure Lilac is okay. She saw me murder someone. No kid stays normal after that.'_

==DG==

Our next visit was to the local park where Andrea said she'd go.

Lucky for us that I was with them. Otherwise Sam and Dean would look like two weird men in the park. Now we were two weird men and a woman.

"Can we join you?" I asked.

Andrea looked up at us. "I'm here with my son." Andrea motioned over to her son.

"Oh. Mind if I say hi?" Dean took off, with only Andrea's smile as permission.

She let out a small laugh of disbelief. "Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing is not gonna work on me."

"Would if I could, ma'am." I replied. Taking the part of the bench beside her, I smiled towards Dean. "Except that's not why he's doing this."

For a few minutes, we watched Dean interact with Lucas. Obviously the conversation was one sided. As I watched Lucas draw, I thought about Lilac. She loved art. Her favorite was watercolors, you see. Funny, considering she was a dragon.

My daughter was a bright creature. She smiled at so many people, made them question how such a good child was found by _me_. They wondered...until my daughter was abducted by a madman.

She was _seven._ The man tore her away from our home, pointed a gun at her head, conducted _experiments (_ the extent to which I still don't know), and _that man is dead now_. Unfortunately, my daughter witnessed the killing blow.

She hasn't closed herself off from the world...it was a near thing for a long time. Her watercolors, which used to be colorful, took on darker tones. My sweet girl, who used to paint landscapes with her friends on them, now painted rainy days or dark trees.

For her, it's been just over a year since that attack. I knew better than anyone that attacks like that affected on a short term and long term.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident." Andrea explained to Sam and I, while Dean walked back.

"Yeah, we heard. Sorry." Dean apologized. Andrea nodded in understanding.

"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked.

"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress." Andrea answered.

"That can't be easy. For either of you." Sam spoke softly.

"Yeah. Are you alright?" I asked.

"We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot." Andrea admitted. She looked off towards her so. "It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw..."

"Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with." Dean assured her.

"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish-" Andrea cut herself off as Lucas came close. "Hey sweetie." Andrea cooed.

Lucas paid her no mind. He looked down to the dirt. He held up the picture for Dean to take.

"Thanks. Thanks, Lucas." Dean spoke as he accepted the drawing.

Sam and I glanced at the picture. It was obviously the Carlton house.

Andrea, for one, looked surprised that her son had come over.

==DG==

Back at the motel room, Sam stormed inside.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie." Sam huffed in irritation.

"We already ruled out Nessie. She's a sweetheart monster for another day." I remarked from the laptop. I'd been looking up bodies from the lake, hoping that one of them might mention Peter. No such luck, dammit. "But...I'm guessing you have a different point."

Sam sits next to Dean. "I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead." Sam

"He drowned?" Dean checked.

"Yep. In the _sink._ " Sam emphasized.

Dean and I blinked at him. "What the hell?"

"In the _sink?"_ I repeated. To be honest, I thought Will was being an idiot in that scene. He didn't need to put his hand in the water, the clog had a chain. Not to mention the fact that he should've wondered how the sink was filling up without the tap running. It was like he'd suddenly Traveled to a horror movie, with horror movie logic.

"So the two of you were right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else." Dean reasoned.

"Yeah, but what?" Sam asked.

"If you ask me, the water is haunted." I stated. Dean and Sam turned over to me. "How many have died in it already in this town? The thing is like a floating graveyard. On that thought, I think a ghost started this."

"You _seriously_ think that?" Dean asked. "Not something like a...waterwraith, maybe? Or a kind of demon?"

"Nope. The obvious is obvious for a reason, Dean." I reminded. "Like that almost-werewolf case."

"Well ghosts can't control _the water._ " Dean argued.

"They can control it when it comes from one source." I pointed out.

The Winchesters lit up in realization.

"The lake." Sam realized.

"Yeah." Dean agreed.

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count." Sam added. "The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time."

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere." Dean reasoned. "This is gonna happen again soon." Dean moved over to a chair, putting on his shoes.

I started packing up my laptop.

"And we do know one other thing for sure. We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton." Sam stated.

"Yeah, it took both his kids." Dean stated.

"And I've been asking around. Lucas's dad, Chris-Bill Carlton's godson." Sam revealed.

Dean and I took that for what it was. "Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."

==DG==

While we approached the saddened old man, I went first. Sam let me. Maybe he thought a feminine presence was what Bill needed right now, after losing his kids. I was just doing it because I was excited.

"Mr. Carlton?" I asked. He glanced over at me, going back to the lake. "My friends and I, we have a couple of questions for you."

"We're from the, the Department-" Dean began.

"I don't care who you're with." Bill cut him off tiredly. "I've answered enough questions today."

"Your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?" Sam said. "Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death-we think there might be a connection to you or your family."

"My children are gone. It's...it's worse than dying." Bill admitted, the words coming out of him like bullets from his chest to mine. All I could think about was my own child, what I became when someone hurt her. "Go away. Please."

With or without checking to see if the boys agreed, I took them by the elbows. They followed me with no problems.

"What do you think?" Sam asked.

"He's been through Hell." I answered, firmly. ' _The only kind of Hell a parent could have: their kids dying first. I've died a handful of times since meeting Lilac. I welcomed them, and I'd welcome them again before I let Lilac die at all.'_ Outside my mind, I'd realised Sam was looking at me expectantly. "He's hiding something."

' _He knows who did it.'_

The thought came suddenly but I felt it was true. Bill Carlton stared at that water, as if seeing Peter floating there. Bill may not know about actual ghosts, he just knew he was haunted by that boy. Maybe he thought God was punishing him for what he did.

Didn't matter. He knew it was connected to Peter someway.

"So now what?" Sam asked Dean.

But Dean wasn't paying attention. He was looking out at the Carlton House.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Have you found a clue, Fred?" I asked, blandly.

"First off, I'm not Fred, shut up." Dean told me. He actually sounded _offended_ by the comparison. "Second...maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something."

He held up Lucas' picture.

He showed it to us.

==DG==

Obviously, the next step was to talk to Lucas again.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea." Andrea replied to our request.

"I just need to talk to him." Dean asked. "Just for a few minutes."

"He won't say anything. What good's it gonna do?" Andrea countered.

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there." Sam explained.

"My husband, the others, they just drowned. That's all." Andrea reasoned.

"Okay. Okay. If you really believe that, then we're done." I explained. "We'll leave and never bother you again with this." Andrea's expression told me how much she was tempted. She didn't want it, she was starting to like us (Dean) and our (Dean's) progress with Lucas. "However, if you think there is a _chance_ of something else at work, please let Dean talk to your son."

Andrea bit her lip.

She answered.

==DG==

Dean knelt down by Lucas. The boy was playing with toy soldiers. Andrea, Sam, and I were waiting by the door.

"Hey, Lucas. You remember me?" Dean asked.

Lucas didn't speak. I glanced at the red bike drawings.

"You know, I, uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again." Dean explained.

Lucas wasn't meeting Dean's eyes. He was focused on his next drawing, which I guessed was the incident at the lake.

Dean pulled out the Carlton house. "How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen?" Dean asked. Silence. "Maybe you could nod yes or no for me."

More silence. I hid a smile at how precious Lucas was.

"You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you." Dean admitted. Sam watched Dean with more intensity, not having heard this from Dean before. "But see, my mom-I know she wanted me to be _brave_. I think about that _every day_. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too."

Lucas lowered his crayon. He gave Dean one of his finished pictures.

Lucas drops his crayon and looks up at Dean. He hands Dean a picture of a white church, a yellow house, and a boy with a blue baseball cap and red bicycle in front of a wooden fence.

"Thanks, Lucas." Dean praised.

==DG==

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died." Dean commented as we were back in the car.

"There are cases-going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies." Sam reported.

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean questioned. "I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please."

"First thing is finding that house." I held up the picture. "Which could be any of them. These houses all look the same."

Sam turned in his seat. He pointed at the church. "See this church? I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Oh, college boy thinks he's so smart." Dean teased.

"Dean two thirds of the people in this car went to college. Watch yourself." I teased right back.

"I knew that." Dean lied. I snorted. "I did! Where did you go?"

"Ohio." I answered. "Not the point. We gotta save whoever Lucas drew, remember?"

"Yeah I know." Dean grumbled. He was grinning before long.

There was a tense pause. Dare I say awkward except emotional things are always awkward for these two.

"You know, um...What you said about Mom...You never told me that before." Sam admitted.

"It's no big deal." Dean brushed off. ' _Ewww Emotions.'_ "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?"

"Please don't. It'd be uncomfortable for everyone in the car." I remarked from the back seat, leaning against the backseat.

Sam was smiling at our antics.

That was better. Emotions are a cursed thing.

==DG==

We'd driven around town for an hour or so when we found the church. There weren't many churches, just it was hard to find the _one_ white one.

The Sweeney house stood out amongst a grove of trees.

Dean held his hand out for the drawing. I opened it up for him, displaying it. He and Sam looked at it.

The three of us silently agreed this was the place.

So we walked across the street. Dean walked up to the house, knocking on the door. Mrs Sweeney answered, inviting us inside after hearing we had questions.

"We're sorry to bother you, ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance?" Dean asked. Mrs Sweeney flustered at the question. "He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

Then Mrs Sweeney's lips turned to a forlorn frown. "No sir. Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now." She revealed, which made some things easier to understand for the boys and only made my heart ache in sympathy. "The police never-" Mrs Sweeney sighed. " _I_ never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared."

Though Sam was trying to show Dean and I the toy soldiers, I was drawn in by Mrs Sweeney's story.

"Losing him-you know, it's...it's worse than dying." She was clearly fighting back tears. The loss, though so old, in her heart was so new. To lose your only child, I am thankful that my own wasn't hurt when she was abducted.

"Did he disappear from here? I mean, from this house?" Dean asked in a low voice, being mindful of her sorrow.

"He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up." Mrs Sweeney answered, without hesitating and full of powerful emotion. She'd been telling herself that for decades.

Dean looked over to Sam and I, except something beyond me caught his eye. He walked over to a picture on the fridge of two boys.

Myself, I stepped forward to hold Mrs Sweeney's hand. She accepted it, using her free hand to dab at her eyes as tears came up.

"I'm sorry." I spoke to her. Mrs Sweeney sniffled. "I'm...I can't explain to you how sorry I am for bringing all this up now."

Mrs Sweeney sniffled again as tears fell down her cheek. "No, thank you, my dear. It's been so long since my Peter went...I thought everyone had forgotten about him." She admitted.

"Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen seventy." Dean read off.

I squeezed Mrs Sweeney's hand.

==DG==

Back in the car, I was in business mode.

"Okay so back in the 70's, Peter Sweeney goes missing, and his best friend was Bill Carlton." I explained.

"Bill's at the center of it all." Sam added.

"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean commented.

"And Bill, the people he loves, they're all getting punished." Sam reported.

"So what if Bill did something to Peter?" Dean asked.

"What if Bill killed him?" Sam countered.

"Nah...Bill would've been a kid too. I doubt Bill could've killed him on purpose." I reasoned. "But if Bill kept _quiet_ about Peter dying? From Peter's mother...?" I prompted.

"Peter's spirit would be furious." Dean picked up my train of thought. "It'd want revenge. It's possible."

Dean pressed down on the pedal.

==DG==

He pulled up to the Carlton house. I climbed out of the car, looking for Bill.

Sam followed me. "Mr Carlton?" Sam called out.

"Mr Carlton! We need to talk-"

The engine of his boat roared. I ran towards the lake. His boat was speeding to the middle of the lake.

Over my own shouts, I heard the brothers running behind me. They were shouting for Bill to stop. Bill ignored them.

He ignored them even as the water pulled him down.

==DG==

After waiting for emergency services, the brothers and I were picked up by Sheriff Jake. He said he would take our statements at the sheriff's office. He had heard the 911 call Dean made.

He walked us inside the station. Andrea and Lucas were waiting already.

"Sam, Raven, Dean." Andrea greeted in surprise. She put down her purse and Sheriff Jake's dinner. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"So now you're on a first-name basis." Sheriff Jake commented, giving Dean an 'upset Dad with a shotgun' face. "What are you doing here?" He asked Andrea.

"I brought you dinner." Andrea excused.

Sheriff Jake let out a huff. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I don't really have the time."

Andrea leaned forward. "I heard about Bill Carlton." Sheriff Jake's face scrunched up in fresh grief. "Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?"

"Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home." Sheriff Jake advised.

Lucas let out a whine. He reached out for Dean.

 _Mom-Friend, Activate!_

"Lucas, hey, what is it?" Dean asked. The boy didn't answer. He held Dean's arm tighter. "Lucas."

"Lucas." Andrea asked. She knelt by her son's side.

"Lucas, it's okay. It's okay." Dean lowered himself to look Lucas in the eyes. Lucas made an effort to avoid Dean's. "Hey, Lucas, it's okay. It's okay."

Lucas whined again.

Andrea was able to pry Lucas away from Dean. Lucas kept reaching out from Dean as Andrea walked them out.

Sheriff Jake walked to his office. Sam and I followed. Dean was looking at the door, lost.

I held his wrist. It jolted Dean out of his stupor. He saw Sam and Sheriff Jake had walked off.

"You good?" I asked him.

Dean avoided looking at me. "I'm fine." He marched off to the office.

Like before, the brothers took the seats and I stayed by the door. My arms were crossed around my front.

Yeah his best friend had died, but only because they'd left Peter behind all those years ago. Bill didn't deserve losing his kids, nor did the Sheriff. They just deserved to be outed. To have their terrible secret exposed, and have their families turn away from them. But I suppose

"Okay, just so I'm clear, you see...something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill-who is a very good swimmer, by the way-into the drink, and you never see him again?" Sheriff Jake asked. He slumped at his office desk.

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Dean confirmed. And it was actually the truth that time.

"And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake?" Jake challenged. "And what you're describing is impossible? And you're not really Wildlife Service?" Sheriff Jake accused.

The brothers put on their best ' _surprised'_ faces.

"That's right, I checked. Department's never heard of you three." Sheriff Jake revealed.

"See, now, we can explain that." Dean began.

"Enough. Please." Sheriff Jake requested. He glared at the three of us. "The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance." Sheriff Jake's glare hardened, if that was even possible. "Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again." He warned.

"Door number two sounds good." Sam agreed.

I raised my hand. "That's what I would pick." ' _Once again butchering the quote: that's where I would play from_ Nemo _.'_

"Then pick it, and go." Sheriff Jake finished.

==DG==

So we did it.

We put the town in our rearview mirror.

We got on the road, and kept driving.

Who am I kidding?

Dean had forgotten to deactivate the _Mom-Friend_ setting on his personality.

He'd been distracted since we left the sheriff's office. Sam hadn't tried striking up a conversation, instead liking over a newspaper for another case.

I was leaning forward in my seat, minding Dean.

He stopped at the interaction. The light changed to green.

My fingers flicked Dean in the neck.

"Ow." Dean glared over his shoulder at me.

"Green." I pointed out.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Light's green." Sam translated for me.

Dean continued driving, turning right.

"Uh, the interstate's the other way." Sam reminded him.

"I know." Dean answered.

I snorted in my seat.

Sam made a huff when he realized what Dean was doing. "But Dean, this job, I think it's over."

"I'm not so sure." Dean replied.

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest." Sam argued.

"We never found out if it was murder or not." I countered. "Nothing says Peter's spirit is satisfied.

"What if we take off and this thing isn't done? You know, what if we've missed something? What if more people get hurt?" Dean asked.

"But why would you think that?" Sam asked.

"Because Lucas was really scared." Dean stated.

"That's what this is about?" Sam asked, infinitely confused.

"Good enough reason for me." I agreed.

"I just don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay." Dean argued firmly.

"Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?" Sam asked, incredulously.

"Shut up." Dean answered back.

==DG==

We raced up to the Barr house. The sky was darker than dark by the time we got there. Dean barely had the Impala parked before running up to the house. I was behind him. Sam was the last to the door.

"Are you sure about this? It's pretty late." Sam asked as he walked up behind us.

Dean didn't answer. He rang the doorbell. The bell had barely started to ring when Lucas threw the door open, panting and eyes wide in fear.

"Lucas?" The boy dashed back inside. "Lucas!" Dean shouted as he ran after Lucas.

I ran with him. Sam with me.

Lucas lead us to the bathroom. Water was pouring out from under the door, and making a waterfall down the stairway. Dean kicked the door open. Sam and I ran inside, myself pushing Lucas into Dean's arms to keep the boy safe.

Sam reached into the water. I joined beside him, trying to keep any sort of hold on Andrea. Peter's ghost had a strong grip, determined to keep her down.

Too bad for him I'm stronger than I look.

Bracing my feet against the side of the tub, I wrapped my arms around Andrea. With a _shove_ of my feet I pulled her up. Her legs flailed in the air only seconds before Sam managed to get her free too.

Sam and I fell back on the floor with a wet plop. Andrea coughed out water on top of us.

==DG==

I'd taken the liberty of raiding the Barr kitchen to make her a cup of cocoa to warm her up. While it was heating up I ran to find her something to wear. Sam was cleaning up the mess in the bathroom and stairs, while Dean was making sure Lucas was in bed. I'd given a very naked Andrea the clothes before helping clean up.

Andrea was shaking the whole time.

The sun came up by the time her nerves had settled down.

Over coffee, also made by me, Sam and I sat her down, far from the bathroom and stairs as we could get. Andrea stared at her mug with the thousand yard stare. Dean was searching for more answers around the house. We'd left him to that. He was as full of nerves as Andrea.

"Can you tell us?" Sam asked.

"No." Andrea answered in a small voice. "It doesn't make any sense." She dabbed her shirt sleeve at her watering eyes. "I'm going crazy." She gave up on the sleeve, instead covering her face with both hands.

"Andrea, we swear that you're not." I assured her. "You can tell us. We promise we won't think it's odd."

Andrea lowered her hands so they were over her mouth. She had started crying. "I heard...I thought I heard...there was this voice."

"What did it say?" Sam asked.

"It said...it said ' _come play with me'_." She hiccuped out a sob. "What's happening?" She asked in a mixture of plea and beg.

Dean showed up a moment later, photo album in his hands. He put the album down in front of Andrea, careful not to startle her.

"Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?" Dean asked, pointing at the troop photo.

"What? Um, um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there." She pointed at a boy beside a younger Bill and Peter. "He must have been about twelve in these pictures."

She moves her finger over to another picture of Jake as a child; he is standing next to Peter.

"Chris Barr's drowning." Dean stated to Sam and myself. "The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to the Sheriff."

"Bill _and_ the Sheriff-they were both involved with Peter." Sam realized.

"The intended target must've been the Sheriff. Go after everyone he loves one by one." I added. "What happened with Bill? That's just Peter being sadistic to the Sheriff."

"What about Chris? My dad-what are you talking about?" Andrea asked, becoming confused at the mention of her husband at a time like this.

"Lucas?" Dead suddenly asked.

The three of us looked over to the boy. He was staring out the window.

"Lucas, what is it?" Dean asked.

Instead of answering, Lucas walked outside.

Like reasonable adults, we followed.

He walked into the woods outside.

"Lucas, honey?" Andrea called out. Her son didn't answer.

Instead we'd walked about a hundred feet from the house. Lucas stopped at a flat batch of land, looking down at the ground before staring blankly up at Dean.

Dean braced himself. "You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Dean told Andrea.

The mother didn't hesitate to take her son away. The boys got shovels from the trunk, my own had been in my Bag. (It could be broken down, okay?)

We dug for ten minutes before Sam's shovel hit the bike. We used our hands to get the rest of the dirt away. Dean grabbed the bike by the handle to pull it up

"Peter's bike." Sam said.

"Why was it so close to their _house_?" I asked, incredulous. Bill and Sheriff Jake actually let _family_ live so close to the only evidence of their accidental murder? _What the hell?!_ No wonder Lucas had been haunted by Peter if he lived so close.

"Who are you?" Sheriff Jake demanded from behind us.

The boys whirled around. I glared up from my spot on the ground, the bike held tightly in my hands.

"Put the gun down, Jake." Sam asked, holding his hands up.

"How did you know that was there?" Sheriff Jake demanded.

"What happened? You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike?" Dean reasoned.

"You let your _family_ live near this bike?" I growled. Pushing myself to my feet, I threw the bike down on the ground angrily. "You did this to them! You're the reason all of this happened!"

Dean and Sam held me back.

"No more hiding, _Sheriff_!" I spat the word out. He didn't deserve the badge. "Tell the truth. Right here, right now!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Sheriff Jake lied.

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about." Dean admitted.

"Dad!" Andrea cried out as she ran towards us.

"And now you got one seriously pissed-off spirit." Dean finished. "And my pissed off friend. I'd confess. She's a puncher."

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt." Sam explained. "And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."

"Yeah, and how do you know that?" Sheriff Jake countered.

"You said it yourself. Bill was a very good swimmer. He _let_ Peter's ghost take him into the water. What other answer is there?" I added, wanting Andrea to see the man for who he was.

"Listen to yourselves, the three of you. You're insane." Sheriff Jake argued weakly.

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us." Dean argued. "But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake." Dean ordered.

Sheriff Jake was quiet.

"You son of a bitch." Dean and Sam held their arms up in front of me again. "He was _twelve_!" _And my daughter was seven._ "How can you- How can you wear that badge?! With what you've done!"

Sheriff Jake's jaw tightened.

"Dad, is any of this true?" Andrea begged.

"No. Don't listen to them. They're liars and they're dangerous." Sheriff Jake instructed.

"Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me." Andrea demanded. Her father obeyed. "Tell me you-you didn't kill anyone." Andrea begged. Her father turned away. "Oh my God." Andrea spoke breathlessly.

"Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time, it got rough." Sheriff Jake excused. "We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank."

It should be worth noting that the brothers weren't holding me back as strongly anymore.

"Oh, Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake." Andrea wasn't listening. She was looking down, a lost expression on her face. "But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some _ghost_? It's not rational."

Andrea looked up to her father. Her eyes were begging him not to keep lying to her.

"Alright boys let me go. I'm about to do Peter's job for him." I demanded.

Sam moved his arm. Dean refused.

"Dean!" I warned.

"All right, listen to me, _all of you_." Dean spoke up. He gave me a pointed look before turning to the others. "We need to get you away from this lake, as far as we can, right now." Dean insisted.

Andrea gasped. "Lucas!"

We all turned to see Lucas at the edge of the lake.

"Lucas!" Sheriff Jake shouted.

We ran out after the boy. He made it to the docks, reaching out to the water.

"Lucas!" Dean shouted.

"Lucas! Baby, stay where you are!" Andrea called out.

I could see Peter's hand reach up for Lucas. The boy flailed as he was pulled in the water.

Dean dived in after him. Myself next.

' _Swimming around in the dark water was so much easier when I was a mermaid...'_

Still I searched for Peter or even Lucas. The only time I stopped was when I needed air.

The boys had needed air too.

"Sam?" Dean asked. Sam shook his head. "Raven?" I shook my head, gasping for air.

"Lucas, where are you?" Andrea cried out.

The brothers and I dived back down.

I could almost make out Peter's shape. He might've been holding Lucas by the arm and neck. Try as I might, none of the motions I made brought me closer. Later I'd think I had been pushed farther back by Peter.

He suddenly turned his head away from me. I turned too, seeing the body of Sheriff Jake.

I pushed myself up to the air. It was over. There was nothing we could do now.

"Jake, no!" Dean ordered, having come up at seeing the Sheriff no doubt.

"Just let it be over!" Sheriff Jake begged as he suddenly sunk further down.

I watched coldly.

"Daddy! Daddy! No!" Andrea screamed.

The brothers dived down. I did too, swimming towards Lucas.

I was able to grab the poor boy's arm. Dean, who had been swimming to Lucas as well, took his other arm. We swam the boy up to the surface.

Andrea was screaming in agony on the dock, looking towards where her father had been dragged down. Sam was watching her, forlorn.

Dean looked down at Lucas, who was unconscious.

Myself, I gripped Lucas tighter.

 _He was twelve, you bastard._

==DG==

The hours later we were packing up. I had cleaned off the last of the wards from the walls, grabbing my Bag to follow after the Winchesters.

Dean and Sam tossed their bags in the back. I came up, pushing the bags back to make room for me.

The three of us stood in silence for a moment.

"We can't save everyone." I reminded the boys.

"I know." Dean agreed, resigned.

There was another long stretch of quiet.

"Sam, Raven, Dean." Andrea called out. I turned to her, seeing her walk up with Lucas. Lucas was happily carrying a tray of sandwiches.

"Hey." Dean greeted with a wide smile. I came to stand beside him, sliding my hands in my back pockets.

"We're glad we caught you. We just, um, we made you lunch for the road." Andrea excused. She put her arm around her son's shoulders. "Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself."

"Can I give it to them now?" Lucas asked, to our equal delights. Dean, Sam, and I gave each other proud looks.

"Of course." Mother kissed son on the head. Son smiled proudly at himself.

"Come on, Lucas, let's load this into the car." Dean offered. Lucas agreed. Together they walked over to the car.

"How you holding up?" Sam asked Andrea.

The mother winced. "It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?"

"Yeah. I know." My elbowed reaches out for her's, giving her a light reassuring tap. "Hey. I'm sorry this happened to you."

Andrea smiled, bittersweet. "There was nothing you could have done."

"Andrea, I'm sorry." Sam added.

Andrea shook her head at him. "You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that." Andrea told him. "Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that."

We went back to Baby. Dean wrangled a high-five from a beaming Lucas. When he saw us coming Dean hopped up to his feet.

Andrea kissed him. Dean gawked at her. "Thank you." Andrea looked down to her son's smiling face.

Sam and I were grinning like idiots.

Dean didn't like it. "Sam, Raven, move your asses. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road." He walked around Baby to get to his seat.

I was snickering as I walked over to my seat.

Lucas and Andrea was waving goodbye to us. Dean started up the engine.

Then we drove off to elsewhere.

I snorted.

"Shut it, Raven."

"Not a chance, dumbass."

I pulled my phone out, texting Lila.

 _Lilac's okay, right?_

Two minutes later she texted back.

 _She's holding your hand on the couch. She's precious._

 **==DG==**

 **AN: Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, I'm 21 and drunk as can be, happy birthday to me!**

 **Thanks to BlueJae3 and Hexal for favoriting**

 **Thanks to BlueJae3 for following**


	6. Phantom Traveler

My night had been spoiled by dreams. Not the same dream I knew Sam had last night. This dream was about what happened on the plane.

' _This job must be getting to me_.' I mused. ' _If I'm already dreaming about it.'_

Instead of doing something productive with my morning- getting coffee, walking, literally _anything_ \- I just popped my headphones on and listened to music. Sam was already gone when I woke up the first time. Dean was snoring enough to wake the dead.

I'd taken the couch- it was my turn. This wasn't the nicest couch I'd crashed on, nor was it the worst. It was a surprise to myself when Sam's loud cheer woke me up, once there was a sun in the sky.

"Morning, sunshines." Sam teased us.

' _That's my line!'_ I snapped. ' _No wait. It was Terra Two's thing. Huh. Must still be exhausted.'_

"What time is it?" Dean asked, sleepily.

"Uh, it's about five forty-five." Sam answered.

"In the _morning_?" Dean asked.

"Yep."

"Nope." I fell back on the couch. "Wake me up in at...normal."

"Where does the day go?" Dean commented. "Did you get any sleep last night?

"Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours." Sam lied.

"Liar. 'Cause I was up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman infomercial." Dean accused.

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV." Sam excused.

"Lucky bastard. I got _no_ sleep." I grumbled. Curling under the sheet I was using, I groaned in sleepless agony. "Stupid nightmares..."

"You got nightmares?" Dean asked. The Mom-friend activated again.

"Yeah." I huffed, turning again on the couch.

"When was the last time either of you got a good night's sleep?" Dean asked the two of us.

"I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"It was a cold September night. I was six. Good times." I replied.

Dean didn't even snort. "Yeah, it is a big deal."

"Look, I appreciate your concern-" Sam tried to assure his brother.

"Oh, I'm not concerned about either of you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you both sharp." Dean joked. Sam didn't have anything to say to that. "Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?" Sam walked away to his bed. He gave Dean a coffee, then myself a mug.

I grimaced at it- handing it back. Coffee tasted shit.

"Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job. Man, it gets to you." Sam shook his head.

Dean looked over at me. "And you?"

"Huh?" I was about to nod off again.

"You got bad dreams?" Dean repeated.

"...yeah." I admitted. "Not about Jess."

"Then what?"

 _An airplane that you haven't even heard about yet._

"...other stuff. The job, like Sam was saying."

"You can't let it. You can't bring it home like that." Dean reminded us.

"So, what? All this it...never keeps you up at night?" Sam argued. Dean denied it. "Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really." Dean further denied it.

Sam pulled a knife from under Dean's pillow.

Dean took it back. I snorted at the look on his face. "That's not fear. That is precaution."

"Alright, whatever. I'm too tired to argue."

"I'm not to tired to watch you two argue." I chuckled

Dean threw a pillow at my head.

When the pillow made contact his phone rang. While I threw the pillow at Sam, Dean answered. "Hello? Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing. It's not back, is it? What is it?"

He looked up at Sam and I- who were tossing pillows back and forth at each other.

"Seriously?"

==DG==

Later that day, I was walking with the Winchesters instead an airplane hanger.

"Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around." Jerry nodded to Dean, while looking at me. "Dean and their dad really helped me out."

"Yeah, he told us." I replied. "It was a poltergeist?"

" _Poltergeist_? Man, I loved that movie." A nearby mechanic laughed.

"Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking." Jerry instructed. He huffed, continuing to walk. The four of us carried on without missing another beat. "Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something, if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive." He turned to Sam. "Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"

Sam was surprised at being mentioned. He played it down. "Yeah, I was. I'm-taking some time off."

"Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time." Jerry praised.

"He did?"

"Yeah, you bet he did." Jerry assured. He turned to Dean. "Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?"

"He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now." Dean half-lied.

Jerry huffed, more in good humor. "Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam and your new buddy, Raven. Even trade, huh?"

Dean laughed. I chuckled at the idea that I was worth the same as John Chuck-damned Winchester.

"No, not by a long shot." Sam laughed, shaking his head at the idea.

"I got something I want you guys to hear." Jerry walked us along towards his office.

==DG==

"I listened to this. And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley." Jerry showed us a CD before putting it in a player. "Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours."

He pressed play.

" _Mayday! Mayday! Repeat! 2485-immediate instruction...may be experiencing some mechanical failure-"_

There was mostly static after that. However I heard the sound of a demon possessing its new host. Not a sound you want to serenade somebody with, or anything of the like. It wasn't a sound your forgot either.

"Took off from here, crashed about two hundred miles south." Jerry explained. He sat up in his chair. "Now, they're saying mechanical failure. Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board. Only seven got out alive." He began to wring his hands in front of him, elbows on the desk. "Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine." He sighed. "Chuck is, uh...well, he's pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault."

"You don't think it was?" Sam asked.

Jerry shook his head. "No, I don't."

"We're going to need a list of survivors, you know." I added. "Passenger manifest."

"Alright." Jerry nodded.

"And, uh, anyway we can take a look at the wreckage?" Dean requested.

"The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage..." Jerry winced. "Fellas, ma'am, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance."

I grinned, smirking. Sam would later tell me Dean and I made the exact same pose.

"No problem."

==DG==

"You're joking."

"I'm not." Sam assured. I laughed, clapping my hands together. "I swear, Raven, it was the same. Like….more the same than either of you had the right to be."

"Well damn." Glancing at how he was leaning against the car, I copied him. "Now I gotta copy you."

"No you really don't." Sam shook his head. He sat up so I copied that. "Are you- stop it."

"No." Copying him again, I laughed at the look on his face. "Dude imagine how it's gonna freak Dean out-"

"He's not gonna notice it. Will you stop?" Sam pushed at me arm. It made me chuckle. He laughed too.

After a minute of that the two of us settled back against the Impala. Myself copying Sam's exact pose. He sighed in defeat.

That was when Dean walked out. He said hi to the lady walking by the copy store. He turned to us. He stopped. He looked between Sam and I.

"You've been in there forever." Sam pointed out.

"It's past curfew. We're not mad, just disappointed." I added.

Dean smirked, getting the joke. He held up the three fake IDs. "You can't rush perfection."

Sam took his. I took mine too, whistling.

"Homeland Security?" Sam read off. He looked up at Dean. "That's pretty illegal, even for us."

"Yeah, well, it's something new. You know?" Dean replied. "People haven't seen it a thousand times."

I climbed in the Impala. The brothers followed.

"You even got my birthday right." I mused once they shut their doors.

"Yeah?" Dean glanced at me from the rear view mirror.

"September 17, 1983." I read off. "Did I tell you?"

"Sometime after the third ghost tried to kill you." Dean answered. He turned to Sam. "All right, so, what do you got?"

"Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder." Sam pulled it up on his laptop.

"Yeah?" Dean asked.

"Listen." He pressed play.

The tape played again. It focused on the demon's voice.

" _No survivors!"_

"' _No survivors'_? What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors." Dean pointed out.

"Got me."

"Sounds to me like there was a supernatural hit on that plane." I mused, toying with my new badge.

"You think so?" Sam asked.

"Well that's the only time I hear things like ' _no survivors'_. That's when there aren't supposed to be survivors." Pushing the badge in my pocket, I sat up in the seat. "Which could mean the actual survivors are in danger."

"So, what are you thinking? A haunted flight?" Dean asked me.

"Maybe. Too soon to speculate." I mused.

"Remember flight 401?" Sam guessed.

"It could be right. Ghost of a previous flight with no survivors reliving his final flight, making sure it's the same for everybody else on the flight." I recalled from the show. "Except while Sam was checking the tape, I called Jerry. Told him to check all the parts he had for anything."

"And?"

Held up my phone for them to see, a text from Jeff on the screen. "Nothing. The closest flight with no survivors was four years ago, in Georgia. The remains of the flight were too few or distorted to reuse in other planes."

Sam huffed. "Damn."

"Yeah, it sucks."

Dean sighed. "Alright, so, survivors, which one do you want to talk to first?" He asked, pulling the survivor list.

"Third on the list, Max Jaffey." Sam requested.

"Why him?" Dean asked.

"Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did." Sam listed,

Dean looked up to his brother. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I spoke to his mother." Sam admitted. "And she told me where to find him."

"You're gonna love this." I told Dean.

==DG==

We had arrived at the hospital. After showing the new badges, the staff told us where to find Max.

"I don't understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security." Max explained to us.

"Right. Some new information has come up." Dean excused. "So if you could just answer a couple questions-"

"Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything...unusual?" Sam asked.

"Like what?" Max asked.

"Just weird. You know like; strange lights, weird noises, maybe. Voices." I listed.

"No, nothing." Max shook his head.

We'd arrived at a table. The boys all took seats, while I pulled a chair away from a nearby table.

"Mr. Joffey-" Dean began.

"Jaffey." Max corrected.

"Jaffey." Dean amended. "You checked yourself in here, right? Can I ask why?"

"I was a little stressed. I survived a plane crash." Max reminded Dean.

"Uh huh. And that's what terrified you? That's what you were afraid of?" Dean asked.

"I...I don't want to talk about this anymore." Max decided, shutting his eyes as if that would get rid of us. Or the images from the crash.

"See, I think maybe you did see something up there. We need to know what." Dean stressed.

"No. No, I was...delusional. Seeing things." Max reasoned for himself.

"He was seeing things." Dean told Sam and I.

"It's okay." Sam leaned forward to take point. Dean rolled his eyes, turning to me. I shrugged my shoulders in a ' _what're you gonna do?_ ' way. "Then just tell us what you thought you saw, please."

"There was...this-man." Max began. His stuttering became worse the longer he talked. "And, uh, he had these...eyes-these, uh...black eyes. And I saw him-or I thought I saw him..."

"What?" Dean prompted.

"He opened the emergency exit. But that's...that's impossible, right?" Max reasoned. "I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door."

"Yeah."

"This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly?" Sam asked. "It would look something like a mirage?"

Max stared at Sam, confused. "What are you, nuts?" He scoffed. "He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me."

==DG==

After a quick check on the manifest, we found the directions to the Phelps home.

"So here we are." Sam remarked as we pulled up. "George Phelps, seat 20C."

"Hmm. Man, I don't care how strong you are." Dean climbed out of the impala. I followed suit. "Even yoked up on PCP or something, no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight."

"So he's not human." I reasoned. "He's just something that looks it."

"Does that look like a creature's lair to you?" Dean asked me.

"It's not screaming terrorist to me either, so who knows what's inside."

Mrs Phelps had let us into the house. She was a breath away from crying by the look of it. I sat on the couch beside her, while the boys sat across.

Sam picked up a photo from the coffee table. "This is your late husband?" He asked.

The widow nodded. "Yes, that was my George."

"And you said he was a...dentist?" Dean repeated.

"Mm-hm. He was headed to a convention in Denver. Do you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that..." Mrs Phelps sniffled.

"How long were you married?" I asked.

"Thirteen years." She answered.

"In that time, did George ever act...unusual? Or out of the ordinary?"

"Well...uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean." Mrs Phelps answered, sounding more composed in that answer. Confusion does that.

So we left the house soon after, giving the widow some 'sorry for your loss' as we left.

"I mean it goes without saying. It just doesn't make any sense." Sam stated.

"And still you said it." I remarked.

"A middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified." Dean agreed. "You know what we need to do is get inside that NTSB warehouse, check out the wreckage."

"Okay. But if we're gonna go that route, we'd better look the part." Sam pointed out, meaning the flannel would have to go.

==DG==

The boys got their suits. I pulled one of my FBI duds from my Bag.

I changed in the back of the Impala. It made the suit a bit wrinkled but who cares?

"Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers." Dean complained as he walked out.

I was fixing my sleeves.

"No, you don't. You look more like a...seventh-grader at his first dance." Sam teased.

Buttoning up the jacket sleeve, I opened the door to the car.

"I hate this thing." Dean grimaced in disgust.

"You wasn't in the warehouse, don't you?" I asked.

Sam and Dean stared at me, surprised.

"What?" I demanded.

They both coughed, looking anywhere but at me. I looked down at my short, expecting to see missing buttons or no shirt at all.

There was nothing wrong. It was just a simple white button up, blue jacket and pants. The boots were black, though not heels they still made me look powerful. I pulled my hair in a bun in the back of my head.

"You're being weird." I decided to tell them. "Get in the car."

"Yes ma'am."

==DG==

We made it past security with no problems.

Once inside the warehouse, Dean pulled out his EMF reader.

"What is that?" Sam asked.

"It's an EMF meter. Reads electromagnetic frequencies." Dean answered.

"Yeah, I know what an EMF meter is, but why does that one look like a busted-up walkman?"

"Cause that's what it is." I replied, matter-of-fact.

"It's homemade." Dean boasted.

Sam snorted. "Yeah, I can see that."

Dean's smug grin fell. I snorted, covering it up as a cough.

There was a loud beep a second later.

"Check out the emergency door handle." Dean instructed, waving the EMF over the emergency door. He scratched at the sulfur on the door. "What is this stuff?"

"One way to find out." Sam stated.

I pulled a plastic bag out of my pocket, holding it out for the dust Sam scraped off.

Once we had the dust we ran to the exit door. The guards were coming up the hallway. There was no time for anything else but running.

We made it outside. After checking that the coast was clear, we walked towards the gate. Unfortunately the alarm went off.

As we ran to the gate, Dean threw his suit coat over it. I still needed mine for work so I just climbed over the railings, mindful of the wire.

"Well, these monkey suits do come in handy." Dean remarked as he pulled the coat back down.

I laughed. Sam glowered.

==DG==

Jerry was looking at the sulfur in a microscope.

"Huh. This stuff is covered in sulfur." He told us.

"You're sure?" Sam asked.

"Cause that's weird."

"Take a look for yourself." Jerry suggested, just as a loud series of bangs came from outside followed by a worker swearing. "If you fellows and ma'am's will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire." He walked out of the office as Dean went to the microscope. "Hey. Einstein. Yeah, you. What the heck you doing? Put the wrench down-"

"Hmm. You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulfuric residue." Dean remarked. He pulled away, I leaned down.

"Demonic possession?" Sam and I replied. Sam a question, mine a statement.

"It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch."

"And the sudden shift to _want_ to open the door." I added, standing up. "The no survivors thing? I think a demon would say that."

"This goes way beyond floating over a bed or barfing pea soup." Dean out his hands in his hips. I sat on the end of the desk. "I mean it's one thing to possess a person, but to use them to take down an entire airplane?"

"You ever heard of something like this before?" Sam asked us.

"Never." Dean answered.

"Nothing this big." I lied.

==DG==

So we were in the motel again. All in normal clothes (thank Chuck). Sam had covered the walls with articles and pictures of demons. Dean has added 'known' attacks. He was still reading research books.

I was on my laptop too, searching for the other flights that crashed.

"So, every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it." Sam listed.

"Yeah, but none of them describe anything like this."

"False." I held up a finger, reading off the article I'd found. "The Japanese believe that a certain string demons are the ones responsible for disasters. Things like wildfires and earthquakes, or airplane crashes and factory explosions."

"Seriously? Plane crashes?" He scoffed. "All right, so, what? We have a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?"

"Yeah."

"You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one?" Sam asked. I nodded in agreement. A list of awful things it might've done formed in my head.

Dean snorted. He turned away from us.

"Dean?"

"What?" Sam asked him.

"I don't know, guys. This isn't our normal gig." Dean excused. "I mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here."

"Yeah. Me too." Sam remarked.

' _I don't.'_

Dean's phone rang. "Hello? Oh, hey, Jerry. Wha-Jerry, I'm sorry. What happened? Where'd this happen? I'll try to ignore the irony in that. Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll catch up with you soon."

"Another crash?" Sam guessed.

I shut down my laptop.

"Yeah. Let's go." Dean instructed, as I slip my laptop in my Bag.

"Where?"

"Nazareth."

Not gonna lie, as I swung my bag over my shoulder I chuckled.

Except as we drove off, I saw the plane crashing everytime that I closed my eyes.

==DG==

After we checked out the plane, we brought more sulfur for Jerry to check.

Jerry let out a quick sigh.

"Sulfur?" Dean guessed. At Jerry's nod, Dean began to pace. "Well, that's great. All right, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him."

"With all due respect to Chuck, if that's the case, that would be the good news." Sam pointed out.

"What's the bad news?" Dean asked.

"No survivors." I reminded them. The Winchester's sighed. "Taking into account both flights lasted forty minutes, it's no longer a coincidence."

"Forty minutes? What does that mean?" Jerry asked.

"It's biblical numerology. You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days." Dean answered. "The number means death."

"So I checked it out earlier. There were _six_ plane crashes before now. All of them lasted forty minutes." I revealed.

"Any survivors?" Dean asked.

I shook my head.

"No survivors." Sam, Dean and I stated.

"It's going after all the survivors. It's trying to finish the job." Dean realized.

==DG==

"Really? Well, thank you for taking our survey, And if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks." Sam hung up. "That takes care of Dennis Holloway."

"Yes sir. I understand sir. No sir, we won't be sharing your phone number to anyone. Sir this was only a survey-" He hung up. "Screw you too, Blaine Sanderson." Dean snorted. I whacked his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Raven?" Sam prompted.

"They're not flying, okay? They both said _no_." I huffed, stuffing my phone in my pocket.

"So our only wildcard is the flight attendant Amanda Walker." Dean reported.

"Right. Her sister Karen said her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight pm." Sam reported. "It's her first night back on the job."

"That sounds like just our luck." Dean snarked.

"Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man, even with you behind the wheel."

"Call Amanda's cellphone again, see if we can't head her off at the pass."

"Just tried. She's not answering. She must've turned off her phone."

"God, we're never gonna make it." Sam sighed tiredly.

Dean pressed his foot harder on the pedal. "We'll make it."

==DG==

Don't know how, but we made it.

I ran up to the departure sign. Dean ran to my side.

"There. Her flight."

"They're boarding in thirty minutes." Sam reported as he ran up.

"Okay. We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone." After a quick scan of the area, Dean found the courtesy phone. He picked it up. "Hi. Gate thirteen…I'm trying to contact an Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on flight, um...flight 4-2-4..." There was a long pause. Dean tapped his foo impatiently. "Come on...Miss Walker. Hi, this is Dr. James Hetfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We have a Karen Walker here...Nothing serious, just a minor car accident, but she was injured, so-" He stopped. "You what?...Uh, well...there must be some mistake."

At his guilty expression, I rolled my eyes. Sam tried to

"Guilty as charged...He's really sorry...Yes, but...he really needs to see you tonight, so-...Don't be like that. Come on. The guy's a mess. Really. It's pathetic...Oh, yeah...No, no. Wait, Amanda. Amanda!" He hung up the phone. "Damn it! So close."

"I wasn't listening, but I know you weren't even close." I remarked. "So I'm gonna get in line, buy us tickets for her flight. You two are going to get us luggage."

Dean's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second."

"Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash." Sam pointed out. "Raven has a good plan."

Dean grimaced. "I know."

"Okay. Let's go get the luggage, whatever will make it through security." San turned to me. "We'll meet you back here in five minutes."

I gave him a thumbs up. Dean shuffled in place. Anxiety written plain on his face.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

Dean winced again. "No, not really."

"What? What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh..." Dean dragged off, looking the direction of the airplanes.

"Flying?" Sam guessed.

" _Flying_." I deadpanned.

"It's never really been an issue until now." Dean excused.

Sam snorted. I laughed under my breath. "You're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Dean asked. "Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

"I thought it was because you loved the car." I admitted, shrugging.

Sam sighed. We exchanged a look, nodding. "All right. Uh, we'll go."

"Yeah."

"What?" Dean looked between us, trying to figure out what silent conversation we'd just had.

"Raven and me, we'll do this one on together." Sam clarified.

"Which makes sense, given that you're scared of flying." I added.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Stay down here and do nothing?" Dean pointed out, annoyed.

"You can drive the car to wherever we land! Everybody wins!"

"What are you, nuts? Sam said it, the plane's gonna crash." Dean argued.

I shook my head. "Not if Sam and I are onboard."

"Dean, we can do it all three of us together, or it can be Raven and me. I'm not seeing a third option, here." Sam countered.

Dean huffed. "Come on! Really?" Sam and I gave him a hard stare. He grunted in annoyance. "Man..."

"Three tickets?" I prompted.

"Yeah..." Dean sighed.

==DG==

The safety announcement was going on overhead. We'd gone through the airport security with no problems, if a little light on Holy Water.

"Just try to relax." Sam advised.

"Just try to shut up." Dean mocked back.

"Wanna lollipop?" In my hand were three bubblegum lollipops, that I offered to the two Winchesters. They'd given me the window seat- such polite boys. Dean sneered at the DumDums. "What? It helps with the ear popping."

Dean turned away, focusing ahead. Sam accepted one. He unwrapped it before popping it in his mouth.

"Bubblegum?" Sam remarked.

I popped the second one in my mouth. "My favorite flavor." Then I leaned forward to look at Dean. "Did you want cherry? I think I have a couple in here." Pulling open the Bag, I pushed my hand inside.

Dean sneered again.

Sam and I exchanged a grin as the plane took off. Dean was holding onto the armrests as if letting go would kill him before the demon did.

==DG==

Not long after we were in the air, Sam turned to Dean. "You're humming Metallica?"

"Calms me down." Dean answered stiffly.

Popping the lollipop stick out of my mouth, I leaned forward. "Showtunes for me."

"Yeah but you always sing showtunes." Sam argued. He had a point, so I let him have it. "Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you got to stay focused."

Dean nodded, clearly not becoming more focused. "Okay."

"I mean, we got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism." Sam went on.

"Yeah, on a crowded plane. That's gonna be easy." Dean snarked.

"And it's not like the demon can move from person to person." Was my helpful comment.

"It's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm through." Dean reasoned, which calmed him down more than Sam's suggestion to calm down. "Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress."

"Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up." Sam agreed.

I grinned around the lollipop stick.

"Mm-hm." Dean turned to the approaching flight attendant. "Excuse me. Are you Amanda?"

"No, I'm not." She replied.

"That's Lauriel." I corrected, standing up straighter in my seat. "Don't know how anyone could forget a pretty face like your's."

Lauriel smiled at me. "Thank you, ma'am." She gave Dean a pointed smile.

"Oh, my mistake." Dean laughed awkwardly.

"Mm-hm." She walked off, not before winking at me.

Not gonna lie, my jaw dropped and stretched into a grin as I watched her walk up the aisle. ' _She just_ winked _at me. Damn Darcy was right. Flirting is so much easier than before.'_

"All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there, so I'll go talk to her, and, uh, I'll get a read on her mental state."

"What if she's already possessed?" Sam pointed out.

"There's ways to test that." He pulled up his novelty water bottle. "I brought Holy Water."

"Only six ounces." Came my reminder, holding up a flask from my Bag. Then I took his Virgin Mary bottle. "We need to make them count. Wasting them on Amanda won't get us anywhere."

"Well then what's your big idea, genius?" Dean snarked.

"I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God." Sam suggested.

"Oh. Nice." He stood up.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Say it in Latin."

"I know."

"Okay."

"Oh, hey, make sure he remembers-"

"Right. Hey!"

"What?!"

"Uh, in Latin, it's ' _Christo'_."

"Dude, I know! I'm not an idiot!"

He walked away from us in a huff.

I leaned in towards Sam. "So...scared of flying?"

Sam let out a breath of air. "Yeah. It's...weird. Didn't expect it."

"Don't know what I expected." I remarked. "Like, everyone's scared of something. But _flying?_ " Sam laughed in agreement. "I think I expected something like...one of the dad's of his hookups being a ghost, and killing him."

"That's specific." Sam chuckled. "I expected...someone painting the car pink."

I laughed that time. "Why do I get the idea you tried that?"

Sam shrugged. "May have. When it was still Dad's car. Got paint on it one summer, instead of washing it."

Grinning at him in shock, I lightly whacked his arm. "Sam Winchester, how dare you."

"I was terrified that Dad was gonna see it, but he was fine. What always got me was that it was _Dean_ that was so pissed off. Dean's scared I'll do it again." Sam laughed fondly.

That got me chuckling, picturing a smaller Dean pulling his hair out because the Impala was pink, with a baby faced Sam standing there in shame.

That was when Dean came back.

"All right, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet." Dean complained.

"You said ' _Christo'_?"

"Yeah."

"So nothing happened?" Was my response.

"There's no demon in her. There's no demon _getting_ in her."

"So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone. Anywhere." Sam realized at the exact moment the plane started shaking.

"Come on! That can't be normal!" Dean complained, gripping the armrests.

"Hey, hey, it's just a little turbulence." Sam assured him.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Sam, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treating me like I'm friggin' four."

"You need to calm down."

"Well, I'm sorry I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"Dude, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap, _it's not helping_." Dean growled.

"Listen, if you're panicked, you're wide open to demonic possession, so you need to calm yourself down. Right now." Sam instructed.

So, Dean followed the instructions.

"Sam, find a ritual yet?" I asked Sam, while Dean did his lamaze breathing.

"I think I have." Sam opened John's book. "There's an exorcism in here that I think is gonna work. The _Rituale Romanum_."

"What do we have to do?" Dean asked, more composed than before.

"It's two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful." Sam explained.

"More powerful?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Well, it doesn't need to possess someone anymore. It can just wreak havoc on its own." Sam answered.

"Great. Why is that a good thing again?" I asked.

"Yeah. What she said." Dean added.

"Well, because the second part sends the bastard back to hell once and for all." Sam answered.

Dean huffed. "First things first, we got to find it."

==DG==

He pretended like he was doing his walking to calm down thing again. People bought it, thinking the EMF was just an old fashioned iPod. Well a modern iPod, they had weird tech this year. Sometimes I have to remember how out of date everything is compared to my time.

Sam and I walked up to Dean. He jumped when Sam tapped his shoulder.

"Ah! Don't do that."

"Anything?" Sam asked.

Dean let out an impatient sigh. "No, nothing. How much time we got?"

"Less than fifteen minutes." I answered.

"Maybe we missed somebody." Sam guessed.

"Well there are two people he hasn't checked yet." I stated. "One of which is _really_ emotional compromised."

"Who? I checked everyone on this goddamn plane." Dean argued, keeping his voice low. The EMF spiked in his hand.

I nodded my head towards the front of the plane, just as the copilot walked out of the bathroom.

"Huh." Sam hummed. "She's right."

"Christo." Dean stated.

The copilot turned to us, his eyes black.

==DG==

"She's not gonna believe this." Sam argued as we were walking up the aisle.

"She will." I stated.

"Twelve minutes, dude." Dean reminded.

Once we made it to the back, I saw Amanda sifting through the cups.

"Oh, hi." Amanda cheered. She was more focused on Dean than us. "Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope."

"Actually, that's kind of what we need to talk to you about." Dean began as Sam closed the curtain.

This did little to boost Amanda's confidence in us. "Um, okay. What can I do for you?"

"The copilot is possessed by a demon that's going to bring down the plane." I stated. The boys sighed in irritation, while Amanda gave me a look of confusion.

"I'm sorry?"

"You saw the eyes, didn't you? Just like Max Jaffey." I argued. There was no time for their floundering explanations. We needed hard facts if we wanted to save these people. I would be _damned_ if I saw another crashed plane in my dreams.

Amanda's face dropped in recognition.

"I'm sorry, I-I'm very busy. I have to go back-" Amanda tried to walk past me, past the boys, but Dean stepped in her path.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean assured. "Wait a second. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? But listen to me, uh...The pilot in 2485, Chuck Lambert. He's dead."

"Wait. What? What, Chuck is dead?" Amanda didn't want to believe it.

"He died in a plane crash. Now, that's two plane crashes in two months." Dean revealed. "That doesn't strike you as strange?"

"I-"

"Look, there was something wrong with 2485. Now maybe you sensed it, maybe you didn't. But there's something wrong with this flight, too." Sam threw in.

"Amanda, you have to believe us."

Amanda glanced away. "On...on 2485, there was this man. He...had these eyes."

"Yes! Exactly that." I leaned in closer. "This demon is not going to stop until you are all gone."

"I don't understand, what are you asking me to do?" Amanda asked.

"Okay. The copilot, we need you to bring him back here." Dean stated.

Amanda thinned her lips. "How am I supposed to go in the cockpit and get the copilot-"

"It doesn't matter how. Only that you do." I told her.

"Do you know that I could lose _my job_ if you-"

"Okay, well you're gonna lose a lot more if you don't help us out." Dean pointed out.

Amanda understood. "Okay." She walked between the boys, walking to the cockpit.

Dean glared at me.

"What? I told you I'd get her to listen." I reminded him. Dean rolled his eyes. "When were you gonna tell her, then, huh? Before or after we exorcised the copilot in front of her-"

Sam hushed me. "They're coming back." Sam grabbed his holy water. Dean grabbed the journal. They exchanged their items. I pulled out my holy water, passing it to Dean. He handed me a roll of duct tape. I nodded in understanding.

The possessed copilot walked in from the curtain.

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

I punched him the face.

He flopped to the floor.

With him down, I hopped down to straddle his stomach. With him down, Dean poured the holy water on his face. The demon tried to throw me off, making me clench my legs harder against his sides. At the same time I tried to find the end of the tape roll so I could get it over his mouth.

"Wait. What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him." Amanda argued, gasping in shock.

"We are gonna talk to him." Dean splashed more holy water down. The copilot's skin sizzled, leaving burn marks on the outfit. I grabbed the copilot's flailing hands, taping them at the wrist.

"Oh, my god. What- what is he?" Amanda asked in a panic. "You- you said _demon!"_

"Look. We need you calm. We need you outside the curtain." Sam instructed her.

The copilot bucked again- in pain. I'd finished putting duct tape over his wrists, so I added them to the spaces with holy water. It pushed the soak fabric against his skin. There was some muffled screaming so I added more duct tape to his mouth.

"Well, I don't underst-I don't know-"

"Don't let anybody in, okay? Can you do that? Can you do that?" Sam asked. She stood still. "Amanda?"

"Okay. Okay." She went outside the curtains.

"You know, Sam-" The copilot bucked once more. Dean poured the holy water on his face. "We can't hold him forever!"

" _Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino-"_ Sam recited.

The demon tried again to buck me off. My hands grabbed at his shoulders, grabbing what I knew to by the human pressure points. For now they would have to do against a demon. He growled at me. I punched his face. Dean held him down at the shoulders. The demon hit Dean with a headbutt which led to myself being slapped by the demon's fists.

The slap pushed me off his body. I nearly slammed into the back wall. The impact was blocked by flying into Dean.

The demon grabbed Sam. The tape on his mouth having flown off when he hit Dean. "I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning!"

Dean got up first, hitting the demon. Sam just sat there, stunned. I grabbed for the book, reciting the rest of the spell.

The demon spat Dean's direction. He turned to glare at me. "I hope you don't care about your sister! Because she's Hell's whore now!" He taunted me.

I ignored him.

As I read off, the demon writhed under Dean. It seemed to shake Sam out of his stupor. He held down the demon, keeping him from lashing out at me while I read off the spell.

Once the first part of it was finished the demon fled the copilot's body, flying off in the vent.

"Brace yourselves!" I warned to boy's. They were confused right up until the plane dropped. They bounced around the back cabin for a moment. My arm held tightly to the book, keeping the page in place while my other arm held onto the back wall.

Forcing the hair away from my face I read the next half of the exorcism. Dean's expression made it almost worth it.

A flash of light danced around the interior of the plane. Closing the book, I watched as the light sought the demon from all the places it could hide.

The plane went back on course soon after the light stopped.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Dean sank to the ground like deadweight.

Glancing at Sam, I saw he had wedged himself between the door to keep from bouncing around. I smirked at them both, tossing Sam the book. He caught it, holding it to his chest.

He refused to smirk back.

Dean however, shook his head at me with a flat expression. It made my grin wider in spite.

==DG==

The plane had to turn around, landing back at the gate.

The other passengers were being questioned by various members of the Initial Security. I wasn't going to bother figuring out who was what. There was only one thing on my mind.

Amanda- in the middle of her interview- glanced at us. She mouthed a 'thank you' for us. We nodded in respect to her.

"Let's get out of here." Dean suggested.

Dean and Sam head for the exit.

"You two okay?" Dean asked.

Sam paused. "Dean, it knew about Jessica."

"Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. All right? That's all it was." Dean assured him.

Sam didn't look convinced, but he went along with it. "Yeah."

Dean turned to me. "Raven?" He prompted.

"Hell's Whore. It called her Hell's Whore." I recalled to him.

Dean made a pinched expression. Neither of the brothers had heard much about Darcy, beyond that she died and I tore the heart out of the bastard that killed her. They certainly didn't know what I thought about her being in hell. "Remember, they lie-"

I laughed, sadly. "My sister _was_ a whore. Being Hell's Whore is like...her all time dream." ' _Afterall, isn't Hell just Heaven for the bad people? The people like Darcy?'_ "If he was lying, I doubt my sister would stick to it for long."

His face changed at that explanation.

"My sister and me, we grew up warriors. We had outlets, for when it'd get bad. I had my books and movies, she had one night stands." ' _Also murder but that's beside the point.'_ "I love her, Dean, but I also know what she's like. If she's in Hell, she's making everyone down there suffer more."

That made him smirk. "Come on."

So we left the airport, myself wondering just how much of that I believed.

==DG==

We called Jerry to let him know the problem was solved. He met us at his office.

"Nobody knows what you three did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed." Jerry shook the hands of the Winchesters. "Your dad's gonna be real proud." He told them. He shook my hand too. "It was good meeting you, ma'am."

"Likewise." I assured.

"We'll see you around, Jerry." Sam told him, moving towards the car.

Dean moved towards the driver seat. "You know, Jerry."

"Yeah?"

"I meant to ask you, how did you get my cellphone number, anyway?" Dean asked. "I've only had it for like six months."

Sam and I turned to Jerry, because Dean had a really good point.

"Your dad gave it to me." Jerry answered simply.

Sam stood straighter in attention. "What?"

"When did you talk to him?" Dean demanded.

"I mean, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call." Jerry admitted, to the confusion of the boys. "Thanks again, guys."

The boys didn't respond.

When I climbed inside, I slammed the door to the back harder than necessary.

 _Damn you, John Winchester. Damn you to Hell and I hope Darcy finds you because she hated you too._

==DG==

After giving them their moment on the back of the Impala, I waited for them. This was their private moment and I didn't want to intrude.

My thumb brushed on the lollipop charm, thinking about Darcy.

 _She can't be in Hell_

 _She deserved better than Hell._

 _Hope they at least gave her the Throne_

 _It's the least they could've done._

As I shut my eyes tight, I felt tears burning. They left a scorching trail down my cheeks.

 _Please...please Chuck do me this one thing...don't let her be there._

 _Anywhere_

 _Anywhere but Hell._

I sucked in a pained breath when the doors opened.

Putting on my biggest smile, I shifted so I was lying down in the backseat.

"So. Where to next, boys?"

The car started up without reply.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: You wanna know one thing I haven't done a lot of in this story? Talk about Darcy. I wanna do more of that.**

 **Thanks to G. , Lady Deebo, SylpheKuro, yukicarr, for favoriting**

 **Thanks to G. , Lady Deebo, SylpheKuro, yukicarr, for following**


	7. Bloody Mary

I'd had another nightmare last night.

Or so I found out, snapping upright in the back of Baby as Dean shouted for us to wake up.

As I was upright I thought about the dream. It had been something about the Bloody Mary...but also it was about my sister. She'd been in Purgatory, not Hell. She was running from something...something dark. A demon? Something else that worked in shadows?

"I take it I was having a nightmare." Sam remarked.

"Yeah, both of you." Dean looked over his shoulder to me.

"Shut up." I complained. Pulling myself up, I narrowed my eyes towards the building. Anything was better than thinking about that dream...or my sister...or anything relating the two things. Thinking about Darcy hurt...there were better things to do with my time than think about where she was now.

"Hey, at least _we_ got some sleep." Sam pointed out.

Which was true, as the older Winchester hadn't been sleeping much. He kept himself up either to watch us have nightmares- keep a check so that we'd be woken up otherwise-, or he was driving all night to our next locations. Sometimes he'd sleep if we managed to get a hotel room for a night- but then he was up worrying about Sam again.

With good reason, mind you. Despite all of this I was the only one of the three of us that knew why Sam was having those nightmares. They _could_ have been an effect of the tragedy, yes, but at the rate these were going that became less likely. Now it was a result of his demon powers rising up.

Mine? It was fair to say the same thing. This wasn't my first time gifted with psychic dreams. The feel of them was _very_ familiar in dream form. The only difference is that I could tell they were influenced by something demonic in nature.

Which just meant that the person I was living in was one of the demon children. Whoopie, just perfect. Why couldn't any records exist of this woman? Had she done _that_ good a job erasing herself from everything? Raven Quinzel, couldn't you have left yourself just a _hint?_

"You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this." Dean told us.

"I choose later." I voted, climbing towards my door. _Like, Season 2. Can we settle for season 2?_

"Are we here?" Sam asked.

"Yup. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio." Dean stated.

Sam picked up the newspaper. I leaned over his shoulder to read it, my eyes still blearily from sleep. "So what do you think really happened to this guy?"

Dean shrugged. "That's what we're gonna find out. Let's go."

We all climbed out of the car.

==DG==

As we walked towards the morgue, I watched the doors with some trepidation. Not only was I nervous about the whole lie. Mostly because I myself had been a mortician once- and I had been territorial over the bodies. I'd refused to let others in to see the body unless they were related to the victim or my boss.

Which led to the conversation I had with the Winchesters, just before we walked inside.

"I have an idea how to get in." I told them.

Dean paused in his step, Sam following after him. "Alright. What's the angle?"

My eyes darted to the door. "You guys hide over there. I'll go in, then I'll tell you." Now- Sam looked ready to go along with it. It could've been because he knew I was a genius, or because he was too tired to properly argue. Dean wanted to argue. "Trust me, it'll work."

Dean darted his eyes from the morgue door to me, then back again.

"Hey- you wanna stand here all day, or what?" I prompted.

He sighed-conceding.

"Well go on." I invited, walking to the door. "I'll be a minute."

The brothers walked to the other side of the doors, hiding back the way we came. Once they were there, I got myself into character.

 _Puppies crying._

 _Stubbing your toe on a table._

 _Watching Mufasa die._

 _Watching any finale of_ Supernatural _._

 _Watching any season of Sherlock. At all._

 _Remembering how long it'll be before the next season._

Okay- now I had tears in my eyes. I took a quick breath, focusing on the tears to get a couple down my cheeks.

With that handled I walked through the door. I added some soft sniffles-miming wiping my nose to make it look like I'd been holding it back for awhile.

I walked up to the tech's desk. He was just typing away on his computer.

Once I stood before him, I made another sniffle noise. He looked up at me, giving me a curious eyebrow before he saw the tears on my cheeks.

"Hello." I greeted, my voice having gone soft and just- _just barely_ on the edge of crying. "Umm...I don't...my name is Beth. I umm." I paused, making it look like I was composing myself from breaking down in tears. "I'm here to see Steve-" Cutting myself off, I composed myself again. "Steven Shoemaker."

The tech gave me a weird look at that. "Relation to the deceased?"

"I was-" Swallowing heavily, I paused long enough to sound like putting myself together instead of coming up with a lie. "We were...we'd been going out for a few months. I didn't believe it when they told me he was dead, you know? Donna told me and I just- I was in shock. She told me- she told me this was where I could see him- because he was _dead_ and that just wasn't _fair_ -"

Cutting myself off again, I sighed. "Sorry. Sorry." I wiped at my eyes, thinking about more sad things to keep them coming. "Overshare. Gah!" Laughing nervously, I brushed my tear dampened hands on my jacket sleeves. "I'll just- I'll just go."

"No, no. It's okay." The tech stood up, becoming professional quite suddenly. He picked up a clipboard, walking around his desk. "Beth, right?"

I nodded. "Beth Carlton." Introduction made I held out my hand, again wiping off the tears that were still damp there.

The tech took my hand. He shook it gently. "You...you wanted to see him?"

Bracing myself, I nodded. "It's- I can't picture him dead. I need- I don't want to see him a funeral suit, you know? It's just too...not Steve."

The tech nodded, probably used to grieving families like this. "Look...Doc will be back in an hour. You can wait for him if you want?"

"Oh...you know, this was silly anyway. I should just- I can wait for the funeral- I don't want to bother anyone."

"No- no. It's...I'm sure Doc wouldn't mind."

I gave him a grateful smile. "If- if you're sure."

"Yeah. Come on. This way." He got up, walking to the door.

 _Wow...why the hell does crying work all the time?_

==DG==

In the actual part of the morgue, I stood beside the laying table. The victim had a sheet over him still.

"Donna told me she found him." I spoke, in a soft voice. The tech glanced up at me. "Were his eyes really bleeding?"

"More than that." The tech answered. Moving the sheet back, he showed off Steven Shoemaker's blood stained face. "They practically liquefied."

"Oh...poor Donna." I sighed, putting my hands over my heart in sympathy. "How-" Swallowing a pretend lump in my throat I pointedly avoided looking at Steven. "How did he die?"

 _Not that I need to know._

 _I was watching it in my dream twenty minutes before we walked in here._

"Ah, Doc's not sure." The tech admitted with a wince. "He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

"What...? How many ways can you die where the eyeballs explode?"

"Not just that, there was intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen...Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims." The tech added.

 _Loki's first death in the MCU._

 _My first heartbreak._

 _The look on Lilac's face as she heard her aunt was dead._

 _My face when I heard her aunt was dead._

As my eyes watered, the tech continued to talk.

"That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor." The tech offered as a weak joke.

I sniffled.

"Hey...are you okay?" The tech asked in a cautious voice.

"Ye-yes." I nodded my head, wiping away more tears. "Can you- can you cover?"

He understood. He covered Steven's face back up.

After letting out a shaky breath I gave the tech a thankful smile. "Thank you. I think- I think this helped."

"Sure." He smiled back, probably grateful I hadn't started sobbing. "No problem, ma'am."

"Well. Good day." Adjusting my bag, I walked back out the way I came to make it back to the Winchesters.

==DG==

As I caught up with them, I was still wiping crocodile tears off my cheeks.

"It's one of ours." I reported to them. "Guy had exploded eyeballs, and was alone in the house aside from his daughter. No medical explanation fits."

They gave me confused looks. "Wait you saw the body? That's what took so long?" Dean asked, annoyed.

"Duh." I replied.

"You said you'd come get us!"

"Uhh no I didn't." I countered.

"Yeah you did!"

"I said I'd go in, then tell you-"

"See!"

"I never said I'd tell you to come inside." I pointed out.

Dean's argument lost heat at that. Sam smirked at realizing they'd been played. "That's not what you said!"

I made an innocent face. "Ohh...not my fault you two couldn't piece it together."

Sam laughed at that.

"Why were you crying?" He asked, as we walked out the hospital with a pouting Dean.

"All men hate it when women cry." I admitted. "Plus I looked up a bunch of facts about the family before we got inside. Say the right facts, add the right amount of tears, and people believe you. Actors do it all the time."

Dean mocked the phrase behind our backs.

Sam nodded. "All right, let's go talk to the daughter."

==DG==

The three of us walked into the Shoemaker house. They were having the funeral now- though how they were doing so without the body I'll never understand.

"Feel like we're underdressed." Dean remarked. He fixed up his jacket so it was straight. Beside him, Sam was just searching for Donna.

" _You_ two are. I feel bad for you." I remarked, tucking back some of my hair. My hands smoothed out the creases in my black jacket. I'd changed in the car into something black. My jeans were dark enough to _seem_ black.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You can feel bad for people?"

"You're right, you're right." I agreed.

Dean walked up to a lone gentleman. "Excuse me, sir, you wouldn't happen to know where Donna Shoemaker is?"

The man nodded his head towards the backyard. "Yeah. This way."

I followed him. He showed us to the backyard, where Donna sat with her sister and friends. I thanked the man while the Winchesters walked ahead.

"You must be Donna, right?" Dean greeted.

"Yeah." The teen nodded.

"Hi, uh-we're really sorry." Sam spoke up.

"Really, so sorry." I told Donna.

Donna sniffled, staying strong despite having lost her father. "Thank you."

"I'm Sam, this is Raven and Dean." Sam introduced. Dean and I waved in greeting. "We worked with your dad."

I winced at the obvious lie- that any of these girls could see through.

"You did?" Donna asked, face scrunched up in confusion.

"Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke." Dean sighed.

Charlie was glaring at us now. "I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now-" Charlie interrupted.

"It's okay. I'm okay." Donna assured her friend.

"He didn't have any of the symptoms, last I saw him." I explained, trying to add more fact so we didn't look like the complete liars we were. "But...it was just a few weeks ago. Did you see them? Dizziness? Migraines?"

"No." Donna shook her head.

"That's because it wasn't a stroke." Lily argued, swirling around in her seat to face us.

"Lily, don't say that." Donna comforted her sister.

"What?" Sam asked Lily.

"I'm sorry, she's just upset." Donna tried to convince us.

"No, it happened because of me." Lily argued.

Donna shook her head. "Sweetie, it didn't."

"Lily." Sam knelt down at Lily's side, being the gold hearted boy everyone between Heaven and Hell knew. "Why would you say something like that?"

Lily braced herself. "Right before he died, I said it."

"You said what?" Sam asked, keeping his voice steady and assuring.

"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror." Donna and her friends were reacting as normal teenagers would to hearing this old game. "She took his eyes, that's what she does."

"That's not why Dad died. This isn't your fault." Donna promised. Which was kinda true, because Bloody Mary would've killed them anyway.

"I think your sister's right, Lily. There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?" Dean pointed out.

Lily thought about it. "No, I don't think so."

Donna gave us thankful looks for that.

Charlie's was less thankful.

==DG==

Not gonna lie, Darcy and I used to play Bloody Mary all the time.

Let me be more clear, _Darcy_ used to play Bloody Mary. She loved scaring the other girls in the group homes by jumping out at them after they said the phrase. Her favorite part was always the innocent act she'd play right after, to trick the matrons or foster parents that Darcy Anderson would never _dream_ of _scaring_ the other girls.

Seriously the _hazing_ we got...

Only a handful of them actually deserved it.

...okay most of them did.

They were some fucked up girls in the group homes in a horror movie reality.

Personally, I hated Bloody Mary.

Mirrors and blood never went well together for me.

The Winchesters opened the door to the bathroom. Shoemaker's blood was still on the floor, staining it at this point.

"The Bloody Mary legend...Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?" Sam asked his brother.

I stepped over the blood marks.

"Not that I know of." Dean answered. "Raven?" He prompted.

"...some." I shrugged.

"' _Some'_?" Sam questioned, .

"Well they're eyes weren't bleeding." I admitted. "But a _lot_ of the other parts of the legend were true. Lots of people died in similar ways but it just turned out to be a messed up human. Every now again, there was the proper ghost."

"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it." Sam pointed out.

"As far as you know." I repeated back to him. "It's old now, chances were it wasn't always a sleepover game."

"Yeah, maybe everywhere it's just a story, but here it's actually happening." Dean added.

"The place where the legend began?" Sam guessed. Dean and I shrugged. I was checking out the window for anything. Dean checked the medicine cabinet. "But according to the legend, the person who says B-" The cabinet opened to put the mirror in Sam's face. He closed it. "The person who says _you know what_ gets it. But here-"

"Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah." Dean stated.

"I mean-" I began, stopping myself.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Well technically, Lily invited it in. She brought it to her family. What happened next was pure speculation." I admitted. "Too many variants of Bloody Mary. I'll just shut up."

"Right." Sam nodded.

"Never heard anything like that before." Dean admitted. "Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right. The way the legend goes, _you know who_ scratches your eyes out."

"It's worth checking in to." Sam shrugged.

I walked out of the bathroom first, seeing Charlie coming up. I put on my sweetest smile. "Hi."

"What are you doing up here?" Charlie snapped.

"We-we, had to go to the bathroom." Dean excused from behind me.

"Together?" I added, giving him a questioning look. Dean winced.

"Who are you?" Charlie demanded.

"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." Dean excused.

"He was a day trader or something. He worked by himself." Charlie argued.

"No, I know, I meant-" Dean stumbled.

"And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that? So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming." Charlie warned.

"All right, all right. We think something happened to Donna's dad." Sam answered.

"Yeah, a stroke." Charlie stated, like we were idiots. And they were.

"We think it was something worse than that." I stated.

"Like what?" Charlie asked.

"Honestly? We don't know yet. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth." Sam promised.

"So, if you're gonna scream, go right ahead." Dean advised.

"Who are you, cops?" Charlie questioned.

The three of us exchanged a look.

"Something like that." Dean answered.

"I'll tell you what. Here." Sam reached into his pocket for a card. He wrote down his number on it. "If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange, out of the ordinary...just give us a call." He handed it to Charlie.

We left the Shoemaker house, research on minds.

==DG==

"All right, say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town." Dean began as we walked into the library. "There's gonna be some sort of proof-Like a local woman who died nasty."

"Yeah but a legend this widespread it's hard. I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is." Sam pointed out.

"In some she's a witch, a mutilated bride, dead of sickness, cursed, and blah blah blah." I listed. "It's endless."

"Alright so what are we supposed to be looking for?" Dean asked us.

"Every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror." Sam answered.

"So that's all we have to search for. As far back as the records go. A Mary who fits." I added.

Dean huffed. "Well that sounds annoying."

"No it won't be so bad, as long as we-"

"Ah crap." I complained. The computers were out of order.

"I take it back. This will be very annoying." Sam stated.

==DG==

" _You killed that boy."_

"Juh-" I yelped as I sat up in bed. My head hurt like a motherfucker. I checked my eyes, half expecting them to be bleeding.

We'd made it back to the motel after a few hours of research. We'd decide the library was at a loss for what we wanted. Sam and I had our own laptops, so we'd search on those. Why it took so long for us to put that together, who knows? We were sleep deprived, we were allowed a few stupidities.

"Why'd you let me fall asleep?" Sam asked, tiredly.

"Cause I'm an awesome brother."

"You're an asshole friend." I countered, rubbing at my eyes to get either the sleep out or the dream.

"Yeah." Dean agreed. "So what did you dream about?"

"Lollipops and candy canes." Sam snarked.

"Yeah, sure." Dean laughed dryly. "Raven?"

"Go choke on a drumstick." I snarked, because ' _go suck a cock'_ wasn't fit for PG-14.

"Did you find anything?" Sam asked, to get us talking about anything else.

I pushed myself to my feet. If I couldn't get sleep, I'd get breakfast. Reaching into my Infinity Bag, I found a box with some packets of Little Bites muffins.

"Oh besides a whole new level of frustration?" Dean countered. "No. I've looked at everything. A few local women, a Laura and a Catherine committed suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave, but uh, no Mary."

I huffed, sitting down in the chair across from Dean. "This sucks." I tore into a tiny muffin.

"Maybe we just haven't found it yet." Sam suggested.

"I've also been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know...eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing." Dean admitted. "There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary."

"Maybe it's just a dead woman named Mary who wants to kick at the living." I suggested, tearing into another muffin.

Before anything more could be said, Sam's phone rang.

==DG==

I had an arm around Charlie, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she sobbed.

"And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her-her eyes. They were gone." Charlie explained through her tears.

I patted her back, squeezing reassuringly.

"I'm sorry." Sam comforted.

"And she said it." I looked up to the Winchesters. They had matching expressions. "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of that. I'm insane, right?"

"You're not insane." I assured her. "We promise."

"Oh God, that makes me feel so much worse." Charlie whimpered.

"Look. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained." Sam revealed.

"And we're gonna stop it but we could use your help." Dean asked.

==DG==

Charlie opened the window for Jill's room. I crawled in, walking over to the light switch. The Winchesters followed in behind me.

"What did you tell Jill's mom?" Sam asked Charlie. I was pulling out my own digital camera- fuck these things were old. How the fuck was this thing considering cutting edge just one decade ago?

"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things." She sighed. I flipped on my night vision. The entire room became green on the video screen. "I hate lying to her."

"Trust us, this is for the greater good." Dean assured. He nodded at me. "Hit the lights."

I flipped the switch.

"What are you guys looking for?" Charlie asked.

"We'll let you know as soon as we find it." Dean answered.

Sam held the camera out towards me. "Hey, night vision." I flipped the dial. "Perfect." He aimed it towards Dean, to be sure it was working. I stood behind the screen, looking at Dean.

"Do I look like Paris Hilton?" He asked, smirking.

Charlie and I shook our heads at him. Though I was grinning as I did it, because his face as he asked was funny.

So the three of us began searching the room for evidence. I made a point of scanning the door. It was odd to see this room, more so than before. I'd seen this room in my dream last night. I watched Jill die, now I stood in her room stalling before finding her killer. How fucked up is that?

"So I don't get it. I mean...the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?" Sam asked.

"Beats me." Dean shrugged.

"What did she say it in the first place?" I asked Charlie.

The teen avoided my eyes. "It's just a joke."

"Well the jokes over now." I scolded. Yeah I knew fully well that it wasn't Charlie's fault, no matter what she'd done in the past. She didn't ask for her friend to die. I was just venting to get over the guilt I was feeling. I could've saved Jill I'd just gone to the mirror store instead of sticking around to research useless information.

"Yeah well somebody's gonna say it again, it's just a matter of time." Dean reminded.

"Hey." Sam called for our attention. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"

"No." I pulled it out from my jacket pocket. "Thought we'd need it."

Sam nodded.

He went back to the mirror, taking it out to bring it to Jill's bed. Turning on the light, I ran it over the mirror. They all saw Mary's handprints, and the name she wrote in blood.

"Gary Bryman?" Charlie read off.

"You know who that is?" Sam asked.

"No." Charlie answered.

==DG==

Sam and I walked up to the bench where we'd left them. Sam sat beside Charlie, while I leaned over the back.

"So, Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy." Sam explained. "Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

"Oh my God." Charlie breathed out.

"What?" I asked.

"Jill drove that car." Charlie realized.

"We need to get back to your friend Donna's house." Dean stated.

==DG==

A quick ride in the Impala brought us back to the Shoemaker house. Charlie was talking to Donna as we went up to the bathroom.

I ran the blacklight over the back, showing off to the boys the name.

"Linda Shoemaker." Sam read off.

==DG==

Now we were talking to Donna for answers.

"Why are you asking me this?" She asked.

"Look, we're sorry, but it's important." Sam pressed.

"Yeah. Linda's my mom okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that's it. I think you should leave." Donna requested.

"We're not trying to dredge up old feelings, we just want to know-"

"Get out of my house!" Donna yelled. She ran off upstairs.

"Oh my God. Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?" Charlie asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe." Sam answered.

Charlie swallowed. She braced herself. "I think I should stick around."

"All right. Whatever you do, _don't-_ " Dean stressed.

"Believe me, I won't say it." Charlie stressed back.

"Don't let Donna say it either." I stressed. "I mean it. She doesn't always go after the person who says it. She could go after _anyone_ if she does."

Charlie nodded, a scared look in her eyes at the indirect threat.

==DG==

Dean was typing on the computer. I was typing on mine, looking up mirrors that had been tied into a murder investigation.

"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database- at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me." Dean stated.

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town." Sam reminded him.

"Not if she died in front of the mirror." I pointed out. "Which is what I'm looking up."

"Why?"

"Because, there's this old superstition that mirrors could trap spirits. Not to mention that if our Mary died in front of it, I wouldn't be surprised if she left some of her blood in it. You've seen the handprints she's been leaving. My guess is the mirror was brought to the town." I looked over the laptop's screen to look at Dean. "So I'm really hopeful we're gonna find something."

"But if she's haunting the town-"

"I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked." Dean stressed. "So unless you got a better idea-"

"The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern."

"I know, I was thinking the same thing."

"It's obvious."

"With Mister Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run."

"Both had secrets where people died."

"Right. I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them." Sam agreed with me.

"So you need to have a big secret- like a _really_ big secret where someone died, and Mary comes after you." I finished. "Whether you said her name or not."

"Take a look at this." Dean suddenly stated. He handed us printed pictures of our Bloody Mary.

"Looks like the same handprint." Sam pointed out.

"Who was she?"

"Her name was Mary Worthington-an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana." Dean stated.

==DG==

Not long after, we were in the house of the detective of Mary's case.

"I was on the job for 35 years-Detective for most of that." The man was explaining. "Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder- that one still gets me."

"What exactly happened?" Dean asked.

The man gave us all brief questioning looks. "You boys said you were reporters?"

"We know Mary was 19, lived by herself. We know she won a few local beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana, being an actress." Sam listed.

"And on the night of March 29th someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife." I finished.

"That's right." The man nodded, seeming more relieved to tell us the story.

"See sir, when we asked you what happened, we wanted to know what you think happened." Sam pressed.

The man pulled out his old case files.

"Technically I'm not supposed to have a copy of this." He admitted. He turned the pages to find the one of the mirror. "Now see that there? T-R-E?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

"I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer." The man stated.

"You know who it was?" Sam asked.

"Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon-Trevor Sampson." The man turned another page, a black-in-white image of a man. "And I think her cut her up good."

"Why? Whoever killed her, they didn't just kill her. They tore out her eyes." I asked. "That's personal."

"Her diary mentioned a man that she was seeing. She called him by his initial, ' _T'_." The man explained. "Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell ' _T'_ s wife about their affair."

"Yeah but how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?" Dean asked.

"It's hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out...it was almost professional." The man pointed out.

"But you could never prove it?" Dean asked.

"No. No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous." The man admitted, sounding disappointed in himself for being unable to put it all together for a proper case.

"Is he still alive?" Dean asked.

"Nope." The man sighed, sitting down in his chair. "If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret. But she never could."

"Where's she buried?" Sam asked.

"She wasn't. She was cremated." The man answered.

"The mirror then?" I asked. "Where did it go?"

"It's not in some evidence lockup somewhere is it?" Dean asked.

"Ah, no. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago." The man answered.

"You have the names of her family by any chance?"

==DG==

"Oh really? Ah that's too bad Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks." Sam hung up.

"So?" Dean prompted.

"So that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques." Sam laughed, dryly. "A store in Toledo."

"So she's tied to the mirror itself, not just the legend." I stated.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

"Hey. Raven. What was that superstition about mirrors you were saying earlier? That they could capture spirits?" Dean asked.

"Yeah there is." I answered.

"Yeah I remember it too, when someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped." Sam explained.

"So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit." Dean realized.

"Yeah but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?" Sam asked.

"The legend probably has some tie into it. If this mirror is in a store, I bet she doesn't get a lot of people with dark secrets looking there." I theorized.

"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it." Dean stated.

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe." His phone rang. "Hello...Charlie?"

==DG==

I was putting a sheet over the TV, taking down the other reflective surfaces with Dean. The whole process of covering up mirrors was a familiar one to me, but I ignored the dark memories behind them. Charlie was sitting on the bed, ducked under her sweater. Sam was beside her, being a comfort.

"Hey, hey it's ok. Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie." Sam assured. "It's okay, all right?" Charlie slowly peaked her head out of the sweater. "Now listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you."

"But I can't keep that up forever." Charlie reminded Sam, in a devastated voice. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

"Not if we have any say about it." I promised her. Sitting beside her, I took hold of her hand. She squeezed it back tightly.

"All right Charlie. We need to know what happened." Dean stated, kneeling in front of her.

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it." Charlie avoided the question.

I squeezed her hand, in comfort and correction.

"That's not what we're talking about." Dean pointed out to her. "Something happened, didn't it? In your life...a secret...where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?"

"I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said ' _Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself'_." Charlie squeezed my hand tighter. I squeezed back in reassurance, adding my other hand. "And you know what I said? I said ' _Go ahead'_. And I left." She looked up at me. "How could I say that? How could I leave him like that?" She sniffled, tears falling down her face. "I just...I didn't believe him, you know? I should have."

She pushed her head into her knees, sobbing now.

==DG==

We stuck around until Charlie calmed down. We told her we'd fix this, and left. If anything happened we told her to call Sam.

"You know her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault." Dean pointed out.

"You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean." Sam countered. "Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary."

"I guess." Dean huffed.

"You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror." Sam suggested.

I sat up in my seat, leaning on the dividing seat.

"Why, what do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Well Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it." Sam explained.

"Well how do you know that's going to work?" Dean asked.

"I don't, not for sure." Sam admitted.

"Well who's gonna summon her?"

"Me." I stated. "I'll do it."

 _I will take the Ring to Mordor._

"No, Raven, it's me. She'll come after me." Sam argued.

"It needs to be me-"

"You know what, that's it." Dean pulled the Impala over. He parked it, giving us both scolding looks. "This is about Jessica, isn't it?"

Neither of us said anything.

"You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow?" Dean asked Sam.

 _I knew it was coming._

 _I did nothing._

"Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night-it's gonna kill you." Dean argued. "Now listen to me-It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her."

 _I knew he was coming._

 _I did nothing._

"Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me?" Dean asked. I looked up at him. "I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place."

"I don't blame you." Sam replied.

"It wasn't on you." I agreed.

"Well you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done." Dean argued to Sam.

"I could've warned her." Sam argued.

 _I could've saved her._

"About what? You didn't know what was gonna happen!"

 _I did._

 _I traveled from another reality was this was nothing but a TV show and I saw it._

 _And when I came here, I did nothing to stop it._

 _Not a damn thing._

"And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean I know all about it." Dean pointed out. "It's not gonna work with Mary anyway." He went for the gear shift.

"...yes it is." I spoke up.

Sam looked up at me that time.

I swallowed.

He seemed to be asking me something with his eyes, and I replied in honesty. ' _I knew too.'_ He took a deep breath, so heavy his shoulders heaved with it.

"No you don't." Sam spoke up.

"I don't what?" Dean asked.

"You don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything." Sam admitted. He glanced at me. "Neither of us have."

"What are you talking about?" Dean looked at the two of us.

"Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam countered.

"Raven." Dean pressed, surprised by Sam's argument. "Do you know what it is?"

I didn't answer.

"You know what? Fine. Whatever it is, I don't care." Dean argued. "No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it."

"Dean, that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it." Sam stressed. "And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this."

"Sam-"

"No Raven, it needs to be me." Sam stressed.

"But _I_ -"

"Raven. It's done."

==DG==

We made it to the store. Sam picked the lock open/

The store was full of mirrors. Why they expected it to be easy, I'll never know.

"Well...that's just great." Dean huffed. He pulled out printed pictures of Mary. he handed one to Sam and the other to me. "All right let's start looking."

We split up.

As I looked at mirrors, I had memories of the past coming to me. I used to be trapped in a mirror. Or, rather the thing controlling me only let me be seen from a mirror. In another reality I was trapped for fifty years as a vampire, and despite all the bullshit about vampires and mirrors she could always be seen in one. It's only the silver backed ones that they're invisible in. How fucking awful.

But she'd let some people see me in the mirror. She'd enchant one to let them see ' _the person inside'_ , and the point at me. She mock and joke and torment me until the other person broke.

She'd kill people in front of mirrors to further fuck them up. Make them watch their own murder. To be made to watch as my own body went against the one belief I really had: protecting people.

She'd look in one for ages after, forcing me to stare at the blood dripping off my chin. She'd never let it go to waste. She would lick up every last drop- gorge herself on blood. Even though I had no real body, it made me sick. I was gagging but she was giggling.

It was her favorite game.

I fucking _hated_ Blood Mary.

"Maybe they've already sold it." Dean's voice broke me out of the horror of the past.

I jumped in my own skin. Boy was that a good relief, to have control over my own body.

"I don't think so." Sam called out.

My legs brought me over to where the boys were waiting.

"That's it." Dean sighed at the sight of the mirror. "You sure about this?"

"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." Sam picked up a crowbar. I raised my Bag. "Bloody Mary."

Nothing happened.

Well except for the police car coming.

"I'll go check that out. Stay here, be careful." Dean stated. He moved towards the front door. "Smash anything that moves." He reminded us. He left.

Sam huffed. "Raven you should go too."

"No." I argued.

"She'll come for me."

"She'll come for us." I argued sternly. "So shut up and- there!" I pointed at the mirror Mary appeared in.

Sam smashed it with the crowbar. "Watch out!" He pointed to the one beside me.

I smashed it with my Bag.

"Come on." Sam taunted. "Come into this one." He twisted the crowbar in his grip.

I stared at my own reflection-

She grinned.

==DG==

" _Good morning, Toy. How'd you sleep?"_

' _I never do.'_

 _==DG==_

" _Oh you're just so little!" She laughed, brushing hair behind the child's ear. "But I have one question for Mommy and Daddy. Which kid do they like more?"_

 _She grinned in the mirror._

' _Please just stop. Make it all stop.'_

 _==DG==_

' _Just one night...you can take a break for one night...'_

" _You know what, Toy? I really can't. Our Pet needs a walk. Don't you, Pet?"_

" _Shut up, monster."_

' _Please...he doesn't need this. He already fed yesterday. He doesn't need more.'_

" _Of course he does. I won't let my Pet go hungry."_

 _I sobbed. My tears burned...which is odd...I've never felt my tears in here before..._

==DG==

Sam was watching the reflection. Nothing was happening. Mary had just gone. He noticed Raven's reflection smirking, which wasn't right.

He panicked when he saw her eyes bleeding.

He whirled around. Raven was staring at the mirror, eyes wide in fear. She dropped her purse. She had tear tracks of blood on her cheeks, and the veins beneath her cheeks were blue.

"Raven!" Sam yelled.

Raven gasped. She collapsed to her knees, shaking. She kept gasping, her hands reaching up to her chest. She started clawing at it, like Mary was suffocating her.

"It's your fault." Raven's own voice came out from the mirror.

Sam turned to the reflection. It was glaring down at Raven in disgust, the blood pouring faster from the eyes.

"You killed them." Reflection Raven spat. Raven on the floor gasping again. "You killed _all of them."_

Sam raised up his crowbar. His own reflection snapped to him, and suddenly Sam couldn't move.

"You killed Jessica." His reflection spat. Sam fell to his knees beside Raven. He could feel the blood trickling from the corners of his eyes. "You never told her the truth, who you really were."

"You've alway lied." Reflection Raven spat. "To everyone. All you've ever done is lie and lie and lie."

Sam gasped, as he felt his chest compress and his eyeballs were squeezed.

"But it's more than that, isn't it." Both Reflections stated. "Those nightmares you've been having."

"Of Jessica." Reflection Sam spat.

"Of Shoemaker, and Jill, screaming-"

"-burning-"

"Dying." They both hissed.

"You've been having them for weeks!" Raven snapped.

"You had them days before Jessica died, didn't you!" Reflection Sam snapped.

Sam couldn't say anything- truth or lie.

Raven was still gasping beside him.

"You're so desperate to ignore them." The reflections taunted. "Pretend they're only dreams. How could you ignore them like that?"

"How could you leave her alone to die?"

"How could you not even bother to try?"

" _You dreamt it would happen!"_

Dean smashed the mirror.

==DG==

Sam gasped out as it stopped.

He looked over, seeing Raven still curled in a ball on the floor.

"Sam, Sammy!" Dean called out. He grabbed Sam's face in his hands, eyeing the trails of blood.

"It's Sam." He corrected. "Raven?"

"Ugh." She whimpered.

"God, are you okay?" Dean asked.

"Uh, yeah." Sam groaned as his body settled back to normal.

"Come on, come on." Dean lifted Sam to his feet.

Raven grabbed the nearby metal fencing. She started to drag herself to her knees, panting harshly.

"Raven you good?" Dean asked.

The hunter flinched away at the question. She choked on a yelp, wheezing it out. "Do-Don't."

The cracking of glass came from behind them.

Dean and Sam has barely turned around when Raven lashed out. She grabbed the closest mirror to her, pushing herself to her feet. She showed the crawling Mary her reflection.

The ghost pushed herself to her feet. She flinched away from the reflection.

"You killed them!" The Reflection Mary shrieked. Ghost Mary began to choke. "All those people! You killed them!"

She shattered into red glass.

Raven threw the mirror aside, letting it shatter on top of Mary's shards. "Bitch." She exhaled.

"Hey Sam, Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"What."

"This has got to be like...what? 600 years of bad luck?" Dean asked.

Sam and Raven laughed tiredly.

==DG==

They took Charlie home.

Dean pulled up in front of her house.

"So this is really over?" Charlie asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, it's over." He promised.

"Thank you." Charlie replied. Dean reached to shake her hand. Charlie did so then got out of the car.

"Charlie?" Sam called. The teen turned around. "Your boyfriend's death...you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen." He assured her.

Raven poked her head out. "It was his choice- not yours. It's not your fault."

Charlie smiled, grateful.

==DG==

As they drove out of town, Raven fell asleep.

She dreamt about Bloody Mary.

The ghost was glaring at her. Raven wouldn't let herself be cowed by the ghost.

"You killed them." Mary hissed.

"And someday I'll come to terms with that." Raven countered. "Killing me doesn't make it better. It just makes another person dead."

Mary screamed.

Raven flicked her nose.

The ghost shattered again.

Raven stared down, stoic, at the pieces.

"You're not better than me." Raven remarked. "I'm not better than you. We're both monsters, aren't we?"

The pieces didn't answer.

Raven-in her dream-sighed. "Yeah. That's what I thought you'd say."

 **==DG==**

 **AN: Sorry this took forever! School, trip out of country, other stories.** _ **Damaged Goods**_ **ended up being far back on the priority list.**

 **What I'm not sorry for is any pain that occurred to you in this chapter. That makes me happy.**


	8. Skin

"Alright, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight." Dean reported, to the two people in his car who weren't paying him any attention.

Or so he assumed, as I had a headphone in one ear. The other ear was listening for anything said, but there were more important things that earned my attention. The book I was reading, for one example. It was doing a great job of making me forget the nightmare I'd had about Zack and his girlfriend and the shapeshifter.

"Sam wears Raven's underwear." Dean stated.

"Good for him, they're soft and pretty." I remarked dryly, turning a page in the book. "Hold on- was it the blue one, or the pink?" My tone shifted to defensive. Dean's nose scrunched up at the question itself. "It's a good question! The pink one is _satin._ " Which only helped in that in made Dean's nose scrunch up higher.

"I've been listenin', I'm just busy." Sam countered, sounding more like he was trying to shut me up instead Dean.

"Busy doin' what?" Dean asked.

"Reading emails." Sam replied.

Dean climbed out of the car. I sat up in my seat, trying to look over Sam's shoulder. "From?"

"From my friends at Stanford." Sam answered.

"You're kidding." Dean grabbed the nozzle for the gas. "You still keep in touch with your college buddies?" He laughed.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Well, what exactly do you tell 'em?" Dean asked back, making me roll my eyes at him. I paused my music for _this_ bullshit? "You know, about where you've been, what you've been doin'?"

"I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother and his friend." Sam explained. "I tell 'em I needed some time off after Jess."

"Aww. You think we're friends." I teased. "Why're you lying to your friends, Sam? You know for a fact that I'm squatting in the backseat."

Sam rolled his eyes at my teasing. "No I don't lie." He defended. "I just don't tell 'em….everything."

"Yeah, that's called lying." Dean remarked as he walked up to Sam's window. "I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin' the truth is far worse."

"So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Sam challenged. When Dean didn't answer, I rolled down my window. "You're serious?"

"Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people, period." I smacked his arm. "Ow!"

"You're kind of anti-social, you know that?" Sam accused.

"She just hit me!" Dean excused.

"It's cause you're antisocial." I informed.

"God..." Sam breathed out.

"What?" Dean asked.

"In this email from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine." Sam explained.

"Is she hot?"

"Is she alright?" I asked.

"I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack. She says Zack's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend." Dean made a face. Sam looked back at him. "Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."

"Dude, what kind of people are you hangin' out with?" Dean asked.

"No, man, I know Zack. He's no killer." Sam defended.

"Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you." Dean countered.

"They're in St. Louis. We're goin'." Sam decided firmly.

"...well I wouldn't mind a detour." I voted.

"Look, sorry 'bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem." Dean argued.

"It _is_ our problem. They're _my_ friends." Sam argued.

"St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, guys." Dean countered.

"So we should start driving." I grinned widely at Dean.

The elder Winchester sighed in defeat.

==DG==

Hours later, we were at Rebecca's house. The door opened for her. Sam had on a friendly smile at her. "Oh my God, Sam!" She cheered.

"Well, if it isn't little Becky." Sam greeted back.

 _Holy shit, somewhere out there_ that _Becky is freaking out._

"You know what you can do with that little Becky crap." She snarked. The two met for a hug.

"I got your email." Sam remarked.

"I didn't think that you would come here." Rebecca admitted.

"Dean. Older brother." Dean introduced, reaching his hand out.

"Hi." Rebecca greeted back.

"Hi."

Standing up on my tiptoes, I peered over Sam's shoulder. "Raven Quinzel. The friend." Rebecca waved back at me.

"We're here to help." Sam offered. "Whatever we can do."

His friend smiled thankfully. "Come in." Rebecca invited. She stepped back to make room for our entrance. I shut the door behind me.

"Nice place." Dean complimented, as Rebecca walked us towards the kitchen.

"It's my parents'. I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zack's free." Rebecca explained.

"Where are your folks?" Sam asked.

"They live in Paris for half the year, so they're on their way home now for the trial." Rebecca explained. She sighed, as if suddenly realizing she was wearing all the weight of the world on her shoulders. "Do you guys want a beer or something?"

"That'd be great-"

"No, thanks." Sam gave me a chastising look, throwing one at Dean too for good measure. "So, tell us what happened."

"Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing." Rebecca explained. She paused, her voice shaking in tears.

I could see the scene in my head, playing over and over like the nightmare loop it was. It was awful- and it reminded me of how I'd killed the man that killed Darcy.

"So, he called 911, and the police-they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way that Zack could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police-they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I _swear_ , he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight."

"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack's house." Sam suggested.

"We could." Dean agreed, trying to hide his surprise at the idea.

"Why?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, what could you do?"

"Well, us, not much. But Dean's a cop." Sam lied.

He and I glanced back at Dean, who was surprised by the lie but going along with it easy. "Detective, actually."

"Really?" Rebecca asked. Dean nodded. "Where?" Rebecca prompted.

"Bisbee, Arizona." Dean answered without missing a beat. "But I'm off-duty now."

"You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just-I don't know." Rebecca admitted.

"Bec, look, I know Zack didn't do this." Sam assured, being sure to look Rebecca in her eyes. "Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent.

"Okay. I'm gonna go get the keys." Rebecca walked away.

Dean laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, yeah, man, you're a _real_ straight shooter with your friends." Dean snarked.

"Look, Zack and Becky need our help." Sam stated.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll be in if we get caught?" I asked Sam. "Not just from the cops, but from your friends?"

"I'm not worried about that. I just don't think this is our kind of problem." Dean argued.

"Two places at once? We've looked into less." Sam pulled the trump card.

==DG==

Dean pulled up to Zack's house. I climbed out of the car, walking around so I stood beside Rebecca.

"You're sure this is okay?" She asked Dean.

"Yeah. I am an officer of the law." Dean replied. He smiled wide for Rebecca, making her smile shakily in return.

Once inside the house, I went up to the living room. Images of my nightmare flashed in my eyes- crossing up with the way I killed Dominic Chamberlin. Emily's screams and Dominic's swirled in my mind.

"Bec, you wanna wait outside?"

"No. I wanna help."

I tied him down in his office chair, so there were some differences. He hadn't been tied down...I held him with a nerve paralyzer. He couldn't move the entire time I butchered him. Could barely scream, just groan.

"Tell us what else the police said."

"Well, there's no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in."

" _Zack! Weren't you going out with Becky?"_

"The Lawyers-they're already talking about plea bargain. Oh, God..."

" _God please stop!"_

" _No God here, Dommy, just me and this knife. Now shut up!"_

"Look, Bec, if Zack didn't do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?"

"Um, there was something, about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes- Zack's clothes. The police-they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed."

Something touched my shoulder.

I jumped, surprised to see Sam standing at my side. He looked more like himself in that moment, concern and worry etched on his face. "Raven, are you alright?"

"No." Sam's eyes focused on me, widened a bit in concern. "Sorry- Sorry. It's the lack of sleep. I'm just...I'm just tired, ya know? I'll be fine."

"If you're not up for this-" Sam tried.

"I am. I can handle it." I stated firmly.

Not wanting to be in this space anymore, I walked over to the kitchen space. At least here was far enough from the blood splatter. On the other hand, I could see the photo of the Warrens and Sam, all buddy-buddy.

' _...you know, in poor light, Dominic Chamberlin looks like an older Zack Warren._

 _And I saw him beat his girlfriend bloody...before bringing knives in._

 _Different than when I did it._

 _I didn't beat him.'_

Sam walked up to my side. I held back from snapping at him, keeping my morose thoughts to myself. He saw the picture too, staring at it over my shoulder.

Dean decided to come join our pity party. "So, the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zack's girlfriend was killed."

"Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe Fido saw somethin'." Dean remarked, not agreeing that this was our kind of case but more on the principle at this point.

"Starting to believe this is our problem?" I prompted him.

"No." I gave him a look. "Probably not." That made Sam snort from behind me. "But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure."

"Yeah." Sam and I agreed.

"Yeah." Dean let out a breath. He was caving, anyone that knew he could see it. Rebecca was the last to join our group. "So, the tape. The security footage- you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, 'cause I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction."

"I've already got it. I didn't wanna say something in front of the fed." Rebecca admitted. That made Dean laugh. "I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."

"All right." Dean agreed. Rebecca made her way to the door, the Winchesters following.

I paused at the spot again, looking at the blood stained carpet.

" _Please..."_

" _Morgana Please? Ugh. Just for that I giving you three. Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight. Now, try again and this time with feeling!"_

" _Just...stop." He plead, groaning at the pain._

"Raven?" Sam prompted, getting me out of my headspace again.

Once out, I rushed past the three of them to get to the car. There were things to do before the day was out. Another woman was dying later, and I needed some good way to avoid thinking about that.

==DG==

Rebecca set up the tapes to play in her living room. "Here he comes." She warned.

The shapeshifter wearing Zack's face walked into the frame. It walked into their house. I could see the reflective eyes as it walked by.

"22:04, that's just after ten." Dean pointed out. "You said time of death was about 10:30."

"Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape's authentic." Rebecca added. "It wasn't tampered with."

I walked up to Sam's side. He glanced at me. We exchanged a look of agreement.

"Hey, Bec, can we take those beers now?" Sam requested.

My grateful smile came up, thanking her for doing the action she hadn't done yet.

"Oh, sure." She got up, making towards the kitchen.

"Hey." Sam called out. Rebecca turned back. "Maybe some sandwiches, too?"

I whacked his arm. Sam made the appropriate noise of pain, while Rebecca laughed. "Shut up and starve."

Rebecca laughed in agreement. "What do you think this is, Hooters?" She walked out.

"I wish."

"I can hit you too." I cautioned.

Dean grinned, no doubt believing I wouldn't dare with witnesses around. Then he remembered I most certainly would, had, and will. "What is it?"

"Check this out." Sam stated. He rewound the tape, to show of the shapeshifter's eyes.

"Well, maybe it's just a camera flare." Dean argued weakly.

"That's what I'd see if a cat looked at a camera." I countered. "Not a freakin' lense flare."

Dean made a small scoffing noise. "Right."

"You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul." Sam added.

"Right..."

"Remember that dog that was freakin' out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zack's, something that looks like him but isn't him." Sam reasoned.

Dean grinned at me. "Like a Doppelganger."

' _As a twin, having a doppelganger is a lot less magical.'_ "Or a shapeshifter. Which is the perfect excuse for two places at once." I agreed.

==DG==

The next morning, Sam made sure the three of us were outside Zack's house. Once again I was working on exactly zero point two hours of sleep.

I was trying to avoid seeing that woman being beaten, whenever my eyes close.

"Alright, so what are we doin' here at 5:30 in the morning?" Dean complained.

"I realized something. The videotape shows the killer goin' in, but not comin' out." Sam began.

"Good for him." I leaned against Baby, resting against her. "He walked out the back door. Give him a medal."

"Right." Sam carried on, without my insulting nature. "So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue."

"'Cause they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zack inside." Dean reasoned. "I still don't know what we're doin' here at 5:30 in the morning."

"Dude...you got coffee?"

"Yeah." Dean sipped his coffee.

"Why didn't I get anything?" I complained.

"Shoulda asked."

I groaned in complaint.

"Blood." Sam pointed out to us. "Somebody came this way."

"Yeah, but the trail ends. I don't see anything over here." Dean remarked.

"Neither do I." I agreed. The ambulance came by. My heart went out. "But I heard that."

So we followed the path it came from. There was a big fancy looking house a few blocks away, surrounding by police cars and a small crowd.

"What happened?" Dean asked a jogger.

"He tried to kill his wife." The woman sighed, shaking her house. "Tied her up and beat her."

"Oh god, really?" I asked.

The jogger nodded. "I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy."

The innocent man was guided to a police car, being pushed in the back while seemingly still in shock.

==DG==

The three of us split up. I spoke to a few other witnesses, getting the same story from a lot of them. That the man who lived in the house was nicer than this scandal said.

I met up with Sam in the alleyway. "Everyone says the same thing. The dude was too nice, he'd never do this, blah blah blah."

Dean came up next. "Hey." He began, getting our attention. "Remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?"

"Yeah." We nodded.

" _Definitely_ our kind of problem." Dean corrected.

"What happened?" I asked.

"What'd you find out?"

"Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story." Dean explained. "Apparently the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked."

"So, he was two places at once." Sam reasoned.

"Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house, police think he's a nutjob." Dean revealed.

"Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way."

"It's fair to say it's the same creature in both cases." I suggested.

Sam glanced at me. "Earlier, you said shapeshifter?" I nodded. "Something that can make itself look like anyone?"

"Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore." Dean added in agreement. "You know, legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."

"Right, skinwalkers, werewolves." Sam listed.

"Or people, apparently."

"We've got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessin' we've got a shapeshifter prowlin' the neighborhood." Dean stared.

Sam glanced around the alley. "Let me ask you this-in all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?"

"Not that I know of." Dean answered.

"I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way." Sam explained.

"Just like your friend's house." Dean nodded.

"Yeah. And, just like at Zack's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared."

I glanced at Dean, making a meaningful look down to where I was standing.

He nodded in understanding, on the same line of thought. "Well, there's another way to go- down." Dean reminded Sam.

==DG==

"I still don't know why I couldn't put them on-"

"You don't need a hazmat suit for this." Dean argued.

"Why do you even have one of those?" Sam asked, hopping off the ladder.

"In case of stuff like this!" I excused. "And it's not a full suit, just shoe covers! This place is _disgusting_!"

"We needed to check it out." Sam argued.

I scrunched up my face, touching down on the sewer. "This, is literally the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Ever." Dean snorted.

Sam, however, stayed the serious one. "I bet this runs right by Zack's house, too." He remarked, over Dean's snicker and my death glare. "The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around."

I followed behind them, making large careful steps over the darkened walkway. These weren't my best shoes, but that didn't mean I wanted to replace them so soon.

"I think you're right. Look at this." Dean called over.

Walking up behind the brothers, I saw the pile of shapeshifter skin. The smell, mixed in with the sight of the flesh made me gag.

"Oh that is properly disgusting." Covering my mouth with my sleeve, I struggled to inhale without taking note of the smell.

"Is this from his victims?" Sam asked, just as disgusted.

"No. None of them lost this much skin at once." I argued. The words were slightly muffled by my sleeve.

Dean picked up a stretch of the skin with a pocket knife. "You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape- maybe it sheds."

"That is sick."

"Can I put on the shoe covers now? Or do we get to leave?" I asked, already making my way back to the sewer grate.

==DG==

Dean opened up the trunk, while I was switching out my shoes. They would be cleaned later, but for now I'm wearing not-sewer-smelling-sneakers.

"Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one sure way to kill it." Dean remarked.

"Silver bullet to the heart." Sam recalled.

"That's right." Dean complimented. Sam's phone rang, so he walked off to answer ti. Dean turned to me, his proud smile changing to a scolding frown. "Hey, do you mind?"

"Mind what?" I asked, tying off the sneaker.

"You're scuffing up the paint."

"I am _not_." I argued. Sitting up off his car, I stared down at the car. There wasn't a scratch or scuff on Baby. "See? She's fine."

Dean huffed. He went back to backing silver bullets away in the magazines. "Still. Don't mess up my car."

So I stuck my tongue out at him. Dean ignored me.

"What are you talkin' about?" Sam's voice carried over to us. I winced at the one-sided argument. "...Why would you do that?...Beck-...We're tryin' to help...Beck, I'm sorry, but-" The phone call ended. Sam sighed, resting against the side of the Impala.

For the record, I tried to stop Dean from saying what he said next. My arm was out and everything, and I had just said "Dean wait-" when he was walking over to his brother.

"I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talkin' about." Dean stated. "You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked. It's just- it'd be easier if-"

"If I was like _you._ "

And the way Sam said that, hit me in the gut. That voice was the voice of a boy who had that thought before, or had heard it. He'd no doubt been held, or held himself, to the standard of perfect son, Dean. _This sentence right here,_ made me want to find John Winchester and Alastair and fucking kick their asses.

"Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people." Dean assured. "But I'll tell you one thing. This whole gig- it ain't without perks." He held out a gun to his brother.

Sam took it.

As we walked back to the manhole, I walked in step with Sam.

"You know-" I began.

Sam matchedanead, ignoring me.

Which...yeah.

Didn't feel great.

==DG==

We stalked the sewers for twenties minutes before finding the lair. I stayed behind the boys for most of it, for both planning ahead for the shapeshifter's attack and letting them test the disgusting sewer walkways first.

"I think we're close to its lair." Dean remarked, shining a light on the pipe by Sam's head.

"Why do you say that?" Sam asked, completely unaware.

"Cause of the gunk he's shining by your face." I pointed out, shiny my own flashlight beside their heads.

Sam turned to it. He jerked back at the pile of weeks old shed skin. "Oh, God!" He is face scrunched up in disgust.

The smell was getting to me too. I covered it with my jacket sleeve. This would take _ages_ of washing to get the smell out.

"Looks like it's lived here for a while." Dean pointed out.

"Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with?" Sam wondered.

"Gah!" I yelped, after elbowing the shapeshifter in the face. "Boys!" I snapped at them.

Sam and Dean came to attention.

The shapeshifter made to punch me. I dodged it, punching it's side. It recovered fast to punch my shoulder.

I fell back against the wall. Gunshots started going off. None of them hit the target.

Sam knelt to my side. "Raven?"

"Go!" I yelled.

"Let's get the son of a bitch!" Dean agreed, chasing down after the shapeshifter. Sam joined in.

After a small pause to get balance I joined the chase.

==DG==

When I climbed out of the sewer, the Winchester's were standing around.

"We gotta plan?" I prompted.

"Split up." Sam stated automatically. He looked at Dean to check.

His older brother agreed. "All right, I'll meet you guys around the other side."

"All right." Sam nodded.

"Deal." I held my thumb-up.

The three of us went separate ways.

==DG==

On a corner sometime, the Winchester's met back up.

"Hey." Dean called out. Sam turned to him. "Anything?"

"No. He's gone." Sam answered.

"Any sign of Raven?" Dean asked.

"Here!" Raven yelled, running up from across the street. She came to a stop, shaking her head. "Couldn't find him." She panted.

Dean huffed. "All right, let's get back to the car."

Sam let out a breath. The brothers went down the way Raven came.

When she followed, a car light revealed her silver eyes.

==DG==

They made it to the car without any hassle.

"You think he found another way underground?" Sam asked.

"Nah. We would've caught him at a sewer grate." Dean argued.

"Unless he doubled back." 'Raven' shrugged, sliding 'her' hands in 'her' jean pockets. "Gave us the slip that way?"

"Yeah, probably." Dean sighed. "You got the keys?" He asked Sam.

Sam reached for the keys. He tossed them over to Dean, glancing at 'Raven'. Dean was too.

"Hey, Raven." Dean began. The hunter turned to him, making an effort not to be staring at the trunk. "Your shoulder okay?"

"Fine." 'Raven' rolled it to show off. "Why?"

"No reason." Dean stared at 'her' for a long moment. "Hey. What was your sister's name again?"

'Raven' paused. "D-" 'She' hesitated, a look of confusion on 'her' face. "Huh. We changed our names so often, it's hard to remember our real names. Last one I remember for her was...Ivy."

"Yeah. Ivy." Dean nodded. He popped open the trunk.

'Raven' stared down, looking at all the weapons in the trunk.

"Don't move!"

'Raven' jumped back. Sam and Dean were aiming guns at her.

"What have you done with her?" Dean demanded.

"Uh...boys it's me." 'Raven' told them.

"No, I don't think so." Sam scoffed.

"Where's our friend?" Dean demanded.

"You're about to shoot her." 'She' laughed nervously. "Sam, Dean, calm down."

"Your shoulder was hurt." Sam accused.

"Yeah, it's better. What do you want me to do, lug it around?" 'Raven' countered.

"You're not our friend." Dean accused.

"Why aren't either of you pulling the trigger, then? Hm? 'Cause you're not sure." 'Raven' pointed out. 'She' laughed, smug. "Boys, you know me."

"Don't." Sam warned. He raised the gun to fire at 'her'.

'Raven' stood still a moment.

'She' lashed out at that, pulling a crowbar out of the trunk before hitting both Sam and Dean.

When they were down, 'Raven' sighed. "Her sister's name? How the hell is she doing this? She's fucked up."

==DG==

Sam woke up, tied up in a dirty room. Hid head was pounding. He was pretty sure he was sitting in a puddle. His neck was bound to the same wooden post as his hands.

Is it bad that this wasn't the weirdest way he's woken up?

The shapeshifter walked up, holding a long string of rope. Sam jumped back. For a moment, he thought it was Raven.

'She' stared at him with a blank expression. 'She' walked up to him, backhanding him across the face.

Sam groaned.

The shapeshifter walked away.

"Where are they?" Sam groaned out, trying to push down the pain in his head. "Where are Raven and Dean?"

The shapeshifter snorted. "I wouldn't worry about _them_. I'd worry about you."

"Where are they?" Sam pressed.

"You really don't wanna know." Sam swallowed, nervous for his brother and friend. 'She' chuckled in Raven's voice. "I'm not usually a girl, ya know. The more I learn about this chick- the more I like her. She's _vicious._ You know, I thought _I_ tortured people. Your friend- she's got the gift."

"What do you mean, learn?" Sam questioned.

"She's got _issues._ " The shapeshifter stated, as though 'she' was getting all the information downloaded in 'her' brain. "You know, she had dreams about what I did to those women. Apparently it was making her relapse, thinking about the guy who killed her sister." 'She' glanced at Sam, seeing confusion there.

'She' let out a content sigh, smiling fondly. It sent chills down Sam's spine.

"You don't know how I did it? I tied him to a chair, then stabbed him a hundred times. Finished it him with a go at the heart. Man, that's _exhausting._ Most days I can barely get past _thirty_. But him? Nah. He had to _pay._ In _blood_ and _pain_ for what he did to D-"

Her expression went blank.

"Hey. Hey!" Sam shouted.

'Raven' blinked back to life.

"I think she's dealt with this sorta shit before. None of the others could keep their heads locked up." She clicked her tongue at Sam. "That question about the sister, hope word doesn't get out about that. I got a rep, yeah? Well. That's enough out of this spinster. Maybe I should try on the other one?"

Sam watched in disgust as the shapeshifter changed, shedding its skin from Raven into Dean. Everything fell away with gross plops, with the occasional hiss.

'Dean' stood there, not a drop of blood or goo on him. Sam was horrified. If he slept tonight, it would be about _that_ shitshow. 'Dean' shook his head after a moment, grinning at Sam.

"I swear, the more I learn about you and your family- I thought _I_ came from a bad background." 'Dean' laughed. "He's sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, _I_ had to stay home. With Dad. You don't think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?"

Sam put away the bile that wanted up his throat. "Where are my brother and my friend?" Sam growled.

"Well Raven is gone. Just...like a light." 'Dean' answered. Sam has to hope it wasn't true. "I _am_ your brother. See, deep down, I'm just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I'm a freak. And sooner or later, everybody's gonna leave me. I mean, look at the one friend I managed while you were gone. Now she's dead too."

"What are you talkin' about?" Sam questioned.

"You left." 'Dean' answered, pointedly ignoring that the question was definitely about Raven. "Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin', just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It's not without its perks." The shapeshifter laughed. "I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance." 'Dean' winked. Sam had to fight the urge to yell at him. "Let's see what happens."

The shapeshifter covered Sam up with a sheet.

==DG==

"Hey idiots. Are you out yet?" Raven called out.

Sam let out a breath, laughing. Even though she had startled him, throwing him off from his escape. "Working on it!"

"That better be you, Raven and Sam, and not that freak of nature." Dean spoke up from somewhere behind Sam.

"Yeah, it's me." Sam laughed in pure relief.

"Same...last I checked." Raven remarked. She grunted. Sam could barely see her out of the corner of his eyes. "Bastard got me in an alley. Damn it. I wanna punch him again."

"He went to Rebecca's, lookin' like Dean." Sam warned.

"Well, he's not stupid. He picked the handsome one." Dean commented.

Raven chuckled. "Sure he did...that's why he picked me first."

Sam laughed at that. He heard Dean scoff.

"Please tell me y'all knew he wasn't me. Otherwise I'm embarrassed to be around you." Raven asked.

"Course we knew." Dean scoffed. "What, you think we're idiots?- don't answer that." Raven snorted.

"Yeah, that's the thing." Sam began. "He didn't just _look_ like you, or you, Dean, he _was_ you. Or he was _becoming_ you."

"That's not creepy." Raven commented. She pulled off the ropes from her body, grabbing her jacket and Bag from a nearby pile of shed human skin. "How'd he do _that?_ "

"I don't know." Sam replied. "It was like he was downloading your thoughts and memories."

"You mean, like the Vulcan mind meld?" Dean guessed. He pushed off his ropes.

"Yeah, somethin' like that. I mean, maybe that's why he doesn't just kill us." Sam reasoned.

Raven made her way to Sam. "So he needs us alive, to keep up the psychic connection. No wonder my head hurts."

"He said you were able to block him out." Sam recalled.

Raven paused, before glancing away. "I don't like people looking at my stuff."

Dean came to untie Sam's hands.

"Hands. Yeah." Raven helped lift Sam to his feet. "Come on, we gotta go. He's probably at Rebecca's already."

==DG==

My head was pounding like a _bitch._

Being taken by the shapeshifter, while a good plus to my plan, fucked up my head a _lot._

Not many monsters had tried to break into my mind in recent years, so I was a bit rusty. I could feel where in my mind that _thing_ had gone, the same way most people could see muddy footprints in their house. The shapeshifter hadn't been able to see much, only the most recent nightmares and...he tried to find Darcy's name, that _bastard._

"Come on." Sam stated as he cleared out from the sewer. "We gotta find a phone, call the police."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're gonna put an APB out on me." Dean pointed out to him.

"Sorry." Sam shrugged.

Dean helped me out of the sewer. "Thanks."

"No worries." Dean brushed off. "This way." He nodded his head up the road.

==DG==

Unfortunately, we were too late.

A news reporter was speaking about the attack on Rebecca. We heard it halfway towards Rebecca's house. " _An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a SWAT team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home."_

The sketch of Dean appeared.

Dean immediately deflated.

"At least it looks like you." I tried to assure.

Dean grimaced. "It's not even that good."

"It's good _enough."_ Sam pointed out. He walked further ahead the sidewalk.

"Man!" Dean whined.

I lightly smacked my elbow against his back. No words of comment to this. Not when I knew the ripple effects that this single event would cause. All the references to it in the seasons that followed, all the jokes online about it. What could I even say about this?

None of us had gone far into the alleyway before Dean stepped in a puddle.

"Aw man!" Dean complained.

"Come on." Sam tried to assure his brother. "They said attempted murder. At least we know-"

"I didn't kill her." Dean huffed.

"Has Rebecca called yet?" I asked Sam. "She would've called you if it was your brother going on a murder rampage, or something."

He shook his head. "Not a word. We'll check with Rebecca in the morning, see if she's alright." Sam said more to himself than to us.

"All right, but first I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him." Dean snapped.

I stepped in front of the Winchesters, making them stop in their steps. "No. Not good enough. We need a _real_ plan this time- a better one."

"I gotta plan. Find this son of a bitch, and kill it." Dean stated.

"With what gun?" I countered. Dean's lips curled. "What silver bullets? Sorry to burst your bubble, but that thing took 'em!"

"Raven, the guy's walkin' around with my face, okay, it's a little personal, I wanna find him."

"Where? In the sewers?" I pressed. Dean looked away. "Cause that worked out so well last time." I argued. "The smartest thing to do would be to get the Impala back."

Dean grunted, tightening his fist. "I'm bettin' he drove over to Rebecca's."

"The news said he fled on foot. I bet it's still parked there." Sam reasoned, joining in with me in support of Dean not doing something stupid.

"The thought of him drivin' my car." Dean added in disgust.

"We'll give you first shot." I assured, putting a hand on his shoulder to push him along.

"All right, come on." Sam prompted.

"It's killin' me."

"Let it go." Sam brushed off.

==DG==

Dean led the charge towards the car. He only seemed to calm when he saw the car waiting there. "Oh, there she is! Finally, something went right tonight." Which was a sentiment shared by his brother, but not by me. The cop car pulled up just behind the Impala. "Oh, crap."

I huffed in defeat, knowing the other car was pulling up. Even though the Winchesters ran back the way we came. When they came back not even a second later, they saw me running towards the fence.

"This way!" I called back to them. Dean ran up. Sam lagged behind.

"You go." Sam told Dean. Sam glanced at me, I nodded in agreement. "We'll hold 'em off."

"What are you talking about? They'll catch you both." Dean argued.

"Look, they can't hold us." Sam assured. "Just go, keep out of sight. Meet us at Rebecca's."

Dean hopped the fence, hesitating before jumping all the way over.

"Dean." Sam called. Dean paused. "Stay out of the sewers alone." Dean said nothing. "I mean it!"

Dean hopped over. Just in time, as the police decided to move in.

"Don't move!" One officer warned. He and his squad walked up towards us. "Keep your hands where I can see 'em."

I raised them up.

==DG==

Sam was right. The police didn't hold us, they had nothing besides Sam's obvious connection to his brother.

The police dropped us off at Rebecca's house. It was a stretch at first. I watched from the sidelines, stunned at Sam that he was able to spin such a tale that the cops led us back to a recent torture victim's house. Where _we_ were the last people to see the perp!

Goddamn.

What the _fuck._

 _HOW_ the _FUCK_?!

I will always be in this state of shock over it.

Nobody will convince me that this isn't _fucked up._

Yes the 'Rebecca' at Rebecca's house was the shapeshifter. Yes Sam had made it sound perfectly reasonable to be taken to a friend in her time of need. How the fuck does that change the fact that our connection to Dean made us _kinda_ suspectful?!

My head was spinning, all the way into Rebecca's front lawn.

"Raven?" Sam asked.

"Huh?" I turned to him. "Oh. Uh...right." Adjusting the Bag strap on my shoulder, I tried to grin reassuringly. Still that whole thing was fucking nuts, so no dice. "What's up?"

Sam glanced around, as though making sure nobody was around to hear what he was about to say. "That thing...he told me what you did to the human who killed your sister." Sam revealed.

Any attempt at a relaxed expression was gone. Now it was a well fitting expression of defeat. I paused, wringing my hand. "Yeah?"

Sam nodded. "He- he said you'd been having nightmares about what happened, and that it brought up the bad memories."

" _You killed the wrong one." I hissed at Dominic. "Didn't she warn you about me?"_

"...it did." A long shaky breath came out. Disgusted overwhelming chills came over me, giving me goosebumps all along my arms.

"How...long have you been having those dreams?" Sam asked.

"Does Dean know?" I asked, my stomach whirling. Oh Author, if Dean knew...it's fucking me up that _Sam_ knew. Oh fuck somebody knows...somebody knows oh author I'm spirling.

"I haven't told him." Sam admitted.

"Months." I took a deep breath. While it didn't make me feel better, it didn't make me feel worse. "...I've been having them for months..."

Sam braced himself.

"Since before Jess." I glanced up to see Sam's expression. It wasn't furious, just a sad acceptance. "Sam if I'd known-" _If I known I could change it...if I'd known they'd keep coming no matter what I did...if I'd known a way to keep you from going back...if only..._

"No...no I get it." Sam took a breath, looking away from me. "I- I had dreams too."

 _Now he looks like a sad puppy...I wanna hug him or something. Winchesters can't cry, they make people weak!_

"...so what now?" I asked. "We both had dreams about Jess dying. Mine are about our cases now. And- and you know what I did. What now? Are you going to tell Dean?"

Sam watched my face, indecision on his own face. "He should know...if anything because you're his friend." He turned to Rebecca's house. "Look what happens when I hide things from my friends." Sam sighed. "But...I don't know how Dean will react."

"That I had dreams about the shapeshifter killing these people, or about the guy that-? Ya know?"

"The guy." Sam supplied. "Did you really...?"

I nodded, recalling in perfectly detail everything I did to Dominic. "He hurt my sister...and it should've been me. My sister died and she wasn't supposed to. That man, he wanted _me_ dead. She- she didn't have to do that, the dumbass." I sucked in a pained, mourning breath. "I...I lost it, Sam. Really, _really_ lost it. I don't like who I was when I killed him. It- I'm scared I'll do it again."

"Hey, hey." Sam walked up, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "That won't happen. Okay? It _won't_."

"How do you know? You barely know me. Neither of you do." I argued, spiralling again.

"Because I've seen the kind of person you are." Sam promised. "And that person is _good_."

I let out a shaking sob of a breath, pushing myself in for a hug. Sam hugged me back.

 _Sometimes, chick flick moments are what we need._

 _...even if the idea of this is making me feel_ weaker _._

 _Damn you Winchesters for making me feel emotions._

 _You bastards._

==DG==

Not long after we were in Rebecca's house, being treated to beers by a shapeshifter wearing Rebecca's face. Despite being a face-borrower, the shapeshifter was an amazing host.

"So, say this shapeshifter is real. By the way, you know you're crazy?" The shapeshifter accused, amused. "But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?"

"First, I'd punch it in the face. We were fighting. It backed out too early." I replied easily, taking the beer. "Then it's just a silver bullet...right...to...the heart." I took off the top of the beer. "Thanks for the beer, by the way."

"Yeah. Thanks Bec." Sam smiled at his 'friend'.

'She' chuckled, shaking 'her' head. "You are both crazy."

"Why, you know I'd win?" I accused.

At that exact moment, the shapeshifter hit Sam over the head. It made a move for me so I ducked out of the way.

I got in a punch on her face. It was already changing back to Dean, which disgusted me more than I'd thought. Because it was kinda cool to punch a guy and knock out a tooth. Less cool when you actually punch out multiple teeth _oh and half his face._

"You're fugly." I accused the stupid Half-Faced Man.

He sneered at me. "Look who's talking. You're no better."

"Never said I was. Well, except at fighting. Then I'm a _beast_."

I lashed out for another attack.

The shapeshifter held up the shattered beer bottle. He moved it towards Sam.

I stopped.

The shapeshifter grinned. "Yeah...not so sure now, are you?" He laughed. "Now listen here, sweetheart, you're gonna do everything I say or else the big guy here gets it. Yeah?"

That made me growl.

"Deal?"

"...asshole. Fine."

==DG==

He tied me down to a chair.

A motherfucking chair.

Course, he made me tie up Sam first. _Properly,_ he added, because if Sam wasn't properly tied then he'd kill us both.

As I tied up Sam, the shapeshifter changed the rest of the way into Dean. Which was as disgusting as it was on the show.

Sam was tied up.

With him done, 'Dean' tied me down in one of Rebecca's dining room chairs.

To my eternal disgust, it leered at me. It's eyes were flashing silver all the while. 'He' went over to the kitchen, milling about.

Sam was starting to wake up. "Raven. Raven!" He called out, coming to alertness.

"Hey!" I called back. "Sam, stay calm!"

"Yeah Sammy. Everything's great." 'Dean' grinned Sam's way. "Raven and I are just having some fun."

"What are you doing to her?" Sam snapped.

"Oh, I'm not doing anything. Dean is, though." The shapeshifter mused.

"They'll never catch him." Sam accused, laughing in pride for the real Dean.

"Oh, she doesn't matter." 'Dean' brushed off. "Murder in the first of his own brother? He'll be hunted the rest of his life."

'He' held up one of Rebecca's knives.

"But that doesn't mean I don't get to have fun first."

==DG==

Sam listened as the shapeshifter tortured Raven. She hadn't screamed, not even once. That only pissed this thing off more. Sam heard it rant at her, ordering screams, for her to beg, for _noise._

But Raven stayed quiet.

Raven made no noise to prove she was in pain.

No sign that she was even alive.

In fact, the closest Sam got to seeing she was alive was when the shapeshifter came over to Sam himself. His front wasn't _soaked_ in blood, rather just...splattered. All over. Sam knew that wasn't enough blood splatter to end somebody...but it troubled him all the same.

"You know, she's a real bitch." The shapeshifter huffed in irritation to Sam. "Won't be sorry when I'm rid of her skin." It stabbed the knife down on the nearby pool table. Sam glared while 'Dean' went to pour himself a drink. "I must say, I _will_ be sorry to lose _this_ skin. Your brother's got a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do." The shapeshifter toasted himself to his own brilliance. "Cheers."

Sam kicked the shapeshifter's legs. It dropped to the ground. Sam took that time to hop up, pushing his ropes against the knife. The ropes were quickly cut, and loose. Just in time for the shapeshifter to lunge. Sam pulled the knife out, swinging it towards 'Dean'.

He could see Raven now- from behind it's shoulders. Sam couldn't get too good a look before the shapeshifter started fighting him. Sam gave a few good hits, but the shapeshifter kept dodging. All with the skills he was no doubt taking from Dean's head.

"Oh, you son of a bitch." It spat at Sam.

Sam spat right back- using all the moves he was certain the shapeshifter couldn't know. The ones too ingrained to know on just memory. Sam was almost able to pin 'Dean' to the ground.

"Not bad, little brother."

"You're not him." ' _He wouldn't do that to his friend!'_

'Dean' was able to get out of the hold, pushing Sam to the ground. "Even when we were kids, I always kicked your ass-"

"Hey asswipe!"

'Dean' turned.

Sam too.

Raven was standing there, blood leaking from her nose and the corners of her mouth. Sam could see her clothes had been torn in a lot of places, all of them bleeding. None of them were close to anything big. Naw, these were wounds meant to make pain, not death.

But her eyes had murder in them.

And her fists, which were holding a red pocket knife.

Raven slashed at the shapeshifter, getting him on the shoulder. If it hadn't dodged, that would've been a killing blow.

'Dean' grabbed a pool cue from the wall. Raven did too, grinning with murderous delight.

"Wanna know something about me that Dean doesn't?" Raven taunted. She twirled the pool cue in her hand, around her back, and finished with a strong pose. "I'm specially trained in bo staff."

She began to strike at 'Dean', making impressive hits on it's arms and legs. 'Dean' never made a hit _once._ Soon enough she stuck the shapeshifter on the knee, sending him to the ground.

When he fell, Raven had a knife at his neck.

"I don't like bastards in my head." Raven warned. She slashed at his neck.

'Dean' choked. The neck wound should've slowed him down, but apparently dying gave him one last kick of adrenaline. He tried to lash out again, leaping up at Raven.

"Hey!"

The shapeshifter turned.

Dean stood there, gun raised.

The shapeshifter ran.

Dean fired.

Raven let out a relieved breath when it fell to the ground. The two bullet wounds giving her relief. Sam too.

"Sam!" Rebecca gasped, after she ran in the room. She ignored the destruction to her home in favor of a friend.

Sam watched as Raven went to the shapeshifter's corpse, Dean already beside it. He plucked off his necklace that it stole, like it was the only thing that he wanted back.

Then Dean stood up, looking at Raven's body. Her lip had split in the fight- or maybe Sam just hadn't noticed it from the torture. Her clothes dripped from blood in random places.

"You good?" Dean asked.

Raven spat on the corpse. "Am now...could use some bandages though."

"We got 'em in the car."

"Cool...also like... _so much_ pie...bloodloss gives me a sweet tooth." Raven admitted.

Dean grinned. He reached out for his friend.

To her credit, she avoided flinching.

But Sam could see her back, how her shoulders tensed up when Dean reached out.

==DG==

"Mother _fucker_." I hissed, stretching my body into another shirt. It moved the bandages, which stung all on their own. "Wish I could kill him again."

"Hey. I'll think you'll find my silver bullets in his chest." Dean excused, searching the glove box. "Son of a bitch moved my ma-"

"Under the seat, fell there earlier." I recited. Dean paused before checking. Sure enough, there was the map. "And I had that guy on the ropes."

Dean glanced at the bandages visible, and the ones covered by my jacket. "Sure."

Normally, I'd worry my lip. Except that bastard had cut that in our fight, so no go there. It fucking _hurts_ to bite a lip already cut open. So instead I locked my hands together, staring down at them vaguely while I mustered up courage.

"I killed a man like this." At the pause after, I motioned to my own body. "Cut him up like...like what this guy did but worse. So much worse...I killed him, because he killed my sister and...and I loved every second of it. That- that _thing_ saw in my head so he could- so he could make it _exact_ -"

"Hey, it's fine. I get it." Dean tried to assure me, standing an awkward distance away.

"No you don't Dean, you really don't."

 _One day you will...and I'm so sorry...there's really nothing I can do...not this time._

"Raven. You're _nothing_ like him." Dean promised. I scoffed. "You're not. You wanna know how I knew it wasn't you?"

"...how?"

"It said it forgot your sister's name." Dean answered. I looked up at him, feeling exposed all over again to pain. Yet here was a guy who _understood_ how you could _never_ forget the name of someone who was your _everything_ and who you became _everything_ for. "Raven I know would _never_ have done that."

That made me smile, just a little bit.

"Thanks Dean."

Dean smiled, awkwardly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Enough with the chick stuff."

"Really? Mister, _you_ had more chick-flick stuff in the past minute than I've had in the past _week_." I teased.

"Shut up." Dean warned, which only made me laugh. He spread the map out on the hood, so I went over to stand with him.

The front door opened. "So, this is what you do? You and your brother- you hunt down these kinds of things?" Rebecca asked Sam.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I can't believe it. I mean, I saw it with my own eyes. And, I mean, does everybody at school- nobody knows that you do this?"

"No."

"Did Jessica know?"

"...no, she didn't."

"Must be lonely."

"Oh, no. No, it's not so bad. Anyway, what can I do? It's my family." Sam grinned our way.

I grinned back.

Rebecca laughed. "Well, you know, Zack and me, and everybody at school- we really miss you."

They both hugged. They seemed to have another exchange in that hug, too quiet and personal to be heard by me. Once it was over, Rebecca went inside. She waved us goodbye, we waved back as was only polite. Sam walked towards us. He sighed, beginning to grin.

"So, what about your friend, Zack?" Dean asked.

"Cops are blamin' this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder."

"He sounds like a real asshole." I remarked, walking towards the backseat.

"Oh he was. They found the murder weapon in the guy's lair, Zack's clothes stained with her blood." Sam went on, shaking his head.

"No...that rat bastard!" I clicked my tongue, shaking my head.

Dean was looking at us like why he wondered he'd just saved our ungrateful lives.

"Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Yeah, Becca says Zack will be released soon." Sam grinned.

"The _shame-"_

"Aw shut up." Dean cursed the days we were born, climbing into the driver's seat.

Sam and I laughed, before joining him.

==DG==

Raven popped some painkillers once they passed the city limit. She took advantage of the long road trip to get some sleep.

With no real witnesses to this, Dean decided to brave through a little chick-flick moment.

"Sorry, man." Dean told his brother.

"About what?" Sam asked.

"I really wish things could be different, you know?" Dean apologized. He didn't know what bull the shapeshifter had fed his brother that night. He wanted Sam to know that know matter what, he was proud. "I wish you could just be...Joe College."

"No, that's okay." Sam assured. "You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in."

Which gave Dean the out to the emotions that he needed. "Well, that's 'cause you're a freak."

Sam grinned. "Yeah, thanks."

"Well, I'm a freak, too. I'm right there with ya, all the way." Dean assured.

"Yeah, I know you are." Sam chuckled.

"You know, I gotta say- I'm sorry I'm gonna miss it." Dean sighed.

"Miss what?" Sam asked.

"How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?" Dean replied.

The brothers smiled.

Raven twitched in her sleep, mumbling before turning over.

Dean glanced over his shoulder at her. "Sure she's alright?" He asked Sam.

Sam looked back. She was using her jacket as a blanket, sleeping under her arm. There were a lot of bandages there.

"He really did a lot of damage." Sam acknowledged.

"Yeah but Raven's tough." Dean reminded him. "She said that thing did that to her because of what she did to the guy who killed her sister." Dean pointed out. "How did he know that?"

"Same way he know stuff about you. He looked in her head." Sam answered.

"So he saw how she tortured a dude to death, but not the name of the sister she killed him over?" Dean questioned.

Sam looked away, unsure. Raven had trusted him with the information about those nightmares- he hadn't wanted to say anything to Dean. He remembered what Dean had said earlier in this whole manhunt for their father, about how you couldn't let the cases get to you. If Dean thought Raven was cracking under the pressure, with the nightmares, then she'd know Sam had told.

"Well I think it's something really personal to Raven. Ask her about when she's up." Sam countered.

Dean glanced over his shoulder towards Raven again. He put his eyes back on the road. At least she was finally getting sleep. Then again, what person would sleep better after being tortured by a monster wearing the face of your friend? Torturing you in the same way you used to kill a guy? It gave Dean pause.

"You trust her, right Dean?" Sam asked, breaking him out of himself.

"Course I do." Dean answered without hesitating. "She's got our back. We got her's. No other way about it."

They kept on driving.

Unaware they while it _looked_ like she was dreaming peaceful, in her mind's eye Raven was killing Dominic Chamberlin all over again. Except she was in the chair, torturing herself.

Yes she would understand the not-so-subtle metaphor when she woke up.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: When I say I love to torture my characters, apparently I** _ **mean it.**_

 **Thanks to animegal1357 and grapejuice101 for favoriting and following**


	9. Hook Man

I snorted as I sat up, inhaling some spit. After a minute or two coughing it out, I climbed out of the Impala.

They had parked at a cafe. When I climbed out, I went to the line to order a hot chocolate. It was ready after a few minutes.

With that done, I found Dean sitting at a table. I plopped down beside him.

"Morning, princess." Dean snarked, typing away on the laptop.

I glared at him from tired eyes. "Shut up." The hot chocolate was only barely becoming cool so I was stuck glaring at it. "Where's the other mistake?"

Dean nodded his head. Following that direction, I saw Sam talking on the payphone.

"Great." I mused, trying the hot chocolate. It was still fucking hot, so not much there. Only burned my throat a little bit. "Still no leads on his manhunt for dear ol' Dad?"

"Zilch." Dean answered, typing away.

" _Super_." I idly tapped the side of my cup. "Have you found a case to distract him yet? It's been a _week_."

Dean grinned. "Think I do, yeah." He turned to laptop to me. "That one good?"

A quick cursory read said it was the Hook Man case. "Good."

"It actually counts this time?" Dean added.

Cause the last few days, he had asked me about the stuff he'd found online or in papers. Pretty much all of them were normal human cases. There was one that came close, but a quick call to the station proved another hunter was on that case. So they'd all been duds for us, anyway.

"It actually counts." I commented, blow a cool breath on the hot chocolate. "Whoop-de-do. Give him a star, everyone. Dean found one that counts."

Dean grinned, taking the laptop. "Nah. Not gonna be dragged down by your negativity."

I raised an eyebrow. "Doubt that."

Dean sneered at me. I sneered right back.

Sam walked back to the table, looking very much like a grumpy moose.

"Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is gettin' cold over here, Francis." Dean told him.

"Bite me." Sam grumbled, sifting in his seat.

"Sam, always so chipper in the morning." I mused dryly, sipping on my hot chocolate.

Sam gave me the Bitch Face.

"So, anything?" Dean asked him.

"I had 'em check the FBI's Missing Persons Data Bank. No John Doe's fitting Dad's description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations."

"Sam, I'm tellin' ya, I don't think Dad wants to be found." Dean countered. Sam made a frowning that was almost sincere. "Check this out." He flipped the laptop so Sam could read it. "It's a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It's only about a hundred miles from here."

"' _The mutilated body was found near the victim's car, parked on 9 Mile Road'_." Sam read off. He gave Dean a look.

"Keep reading." Dean prompted.

"' _Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible'_." Sam finished.

"Could be something interesting." Dean mused.

"Or it could be nothing at all. One freaked out witness who didn't see anything? Doesn't mean it's the Invisible Man." Sam argued.

"But what if it is? Dad would check it out." Dean reminded him.

"We decided? Good that we decided." I stood up out of the chair, headed to the bathroom. "Don't leave without me, idiot."

"We'd be better off!" Dean replied.

"You'd be dead by nightfall!"

==DG==

"Okay Dean I'll bite." I began, as Dean pulled up to the frat house. "What the fuck am I supposed to be doing at a frat house?"

Dean just watched the building, with all the college boys working on their cars. "Distract some boys."

"And I if I don't want to hang around a bunch of gross sweaty college kids that are definitely only staring at my boobs?"

"Alright. Stay in the car then." Dean answered. "I'll crack open a window, you'll be fine."

"I will kill you in your sleep." I warned him. "Sam I'm gonna kill your brother in his sleep."

"I'll hold him down." Sam offered.

"Dude." Dean stared at his brother, offended at the lack of brotherly support. "Let's just go." He made his way out of the car, taking the keys with him. Not before rolling the window open first, which just made me want to kill him faster.

Sam gave me a half hearted look of apology. Made sense, I befriended them, I should expect to be put in situations where I constantly wish death upon them.

The two brothers walked out towards the house. Dean greeted the frat guys on the lawn. I pulled out my iPhone, being given no other option than to entertain myself.

After finding a good song I got out the headphones, plugging them in. It would be a boring stretch of time for myself. Course I sensible person might go out there, get their own clues, and go to the church. Unfortunately I was tired, and wanted a nap. The music should help knock me out.

Some handful of minutes later, somebody knocked on the window I was sleeping against.

I squinted my eyes open. To my disappointment, it was a frat boy knocking.

Annoyed I paused my music, pulling the headphone out of my ear.

"Hey." The frat boy greeted. He had an average face, average brown hair, and something vaguely cute about his dark blue eyes. He gave me a leering stare with them (which kinda took away any of the cuteness), looking over my body from outside the car. "What brings a hot thing like you by?"

I curled my finger at him, inviting him closer.

The idiot did so.

"I know five ways to chop off your dick without a knife." I whispered. His eyes widened. "So go away."

The frat boy swallowed, before headed back towards the house.

 _You know, if Darcy were still alive, she would take that as a command. She'd chase that boy down, fuck him, then kill him. It would be a whole thing. She'd show me the pictures._

 _Fuck I miss her._

 _She'd love this whole thing._

Rolling my eyes I pressed play on the music. "I hate college boys." I laid flat in the backseat, letting the music lull me again towards something resembling a restful sleep.

==DG==

The boys woke me up once we got to the church.

Somehow I managed to keep dreams away- finally taking for use the Dream Walking I'd trained myself in. While lately it was used to have fun with a Princess of the Night, I'd forgotten the original purpose: to keep Freddy Krueger out of my head. Turns out it works with yellow-eyed demon nightmares.

So that would be a useful trick for the future. Like Harry Potter learning Occlumency. Except I was a hundred times a better student.

 _Yeah I went there._

 _I'm rubbing this in Harry Potter's stupid face whenever I meet him and if I survive to movie five._

The Winchester's walked ahead in the church. I walked behind them, keeping a hold on the door to keep it from slamming shut.

"We should reflect on what this tragedy mean to us, as a church-" Reverend Sorensen preached.

Though the door did not slam, a few people turned back to look at us. Lori was one of them. The Reverend gave us a watchful stare. Probably because we were newcomers to his church.

"As a community, and as a family." Reverend Sorensen continued on. "The loss of a young person is particularly tragic. A life unlived is the saddest of passings."

I sat down with the Winchesters. Lori stared at Sam. He smiled back. It immediately dropped. Lori looked at me. I have a polite wave.

"So, please, let us pray. For peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children."

I bowed my head.

Sam and I elbowed Dean at the same time.

==DG==

Mass ended after the rest of a bone dry sermon. I had to shake my head to stay awake. Dean looked worse than me.

The three of us saw Lori by the door talking to Taylor. Her friend walked away, so we took up a chance to talk.

It had been decided- _(explained in clear words that they couldn't argue)_ \- that I was the more reasonable choice to speak to Lori.

"Hi." I greeted as I walked up. Lori turned around to us. "Sorry- Gah. Are you Lori?"

"Yeah." She replied.

"Hi. My name is Raven, these are my friends, Sam and Dean." I introduced.

"Hi." Sam waved.

Dean waved too. "Hi."

"We're a- new transfers. To the school." I explained.

"I saw you inside." Lori nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry if we're butting in. It's just- we heard about what happened and-"

"We wanted to say how sorry we were." Dean jumped in.

"I kind of know what you're going through." Sam piped in too. I-I saw someone...get hurt once. It's something you don't forget."

Lori nodded, though hesitant as she glanced at each of us. Her father walked up. "Dad, um, this is Raven, Sam, and Dean. They're new students."

Dean shook Reverend Sorensen's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an inspiring sermon."

The reverend smiled. "Thank you very much. It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message."

The three of us exchanged a blink-and-you-miss-it look. Sam and Dean nodded.

"Reverend, we were actually hoping to talk with you." Sam spoke. "We're new in town." The brothers led the Reverend away.

"Yeah. And, uh, we were looking for a, um, a church group." Dean added in.

Once they were far enough away, I walked with Lori. "Tell me, Lori. What are the police saying?" I asked.

"Well, they don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that." Lori admitted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"My story." Lori answered. She sighed, stopping in our walk to look down at the ground. "I was so scared, I guess I was ' _seeing things'_."

"That doesn't mean it wasn't real." I assured her. She looked up at me, so I gave her a smile that I hope she took as assurance.

==DG==

The Winchesters and I met up again at the library to do the research.

"So you believe her?" Dean asked me.

"Yep. I do." I replied. "There's no way Lori was faking the look in her eyes." I stated, knowing well and good that I'd both dreamt the incident and watched it on TV.

"Yeah, I think she's hot, too." Dean grinned at me.

I laughed, punching his arm. "Shut up. That's not why." I chuckled. Dean too. Sam rolled his eyes at us both. "We got to talking, right? She heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car."

Sam and Dean turned to me.

"Wait, the body suspended? That sounds like the-" Dean began.

"Yeah, the Hook Man legend." Sam agreed.

"That's one of the most famous urban legends ever." Dean recalled. Sam made a face. "You don't think that we're dealing with the Hook Man."

"Every urban legend has a source. A place where it all began." Sam reasoned.

"Yeah, but what about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?" Dean countered.

"Well, maybe the Hook Man isn't a man at all. What if it's some kind of spirit?" Sam reasoned.

==DG==

The librarian dropped a huge box in front of us. "Here you go. Arrest records going back to 1851." She dropped the next one in front of Sam.

Dean cleared off the dust, coughing as it floated up to his face. "Thanks."

The librarian smiled at him. "Ok." She left us to our devices.

"So, this is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?" Dean remarked, staring at the folders like they'd insulted pie.

"Welcome to higher education." Sam joked.

"Ugh I don't miss it." I grumbled, pulling out a dusty folder.

"You went to college?" Dean asked.

I shrugged, actually hoping neither brother had heard my comment. "Technically." Flipping a folder open, I milled through. "Hated a lot of it...had it's moments. None of them in books, though."

==DG==

Sam found the folder. Despite all of my laziness.

"Hey, check this out." Sam held up the folder. Dean and I walked up to him, standing at his sides to see the articles and pictures. "1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Uh, right here, ' _some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh'_."

I held up a picture of one of the drawings of the women. It got me sympathetic to whores of the past, and wondering once again just _why_ Darcy wanted to travel back to the Wild West. "Well it looks a lot like what Lori described."

"Get this, the murder weapon?" Dean held up the picture of the hook. "Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook."

"Oh I found a fun fact." I pulled out the paper. At Sam's interest I passed it over to him. "Check it out."

Sam read it over. His eyes widened. He showed it to Dean. "Look where all this happened."

Dean read. "9 Mile Road."

"Same place where the frat boy was killed." Sam stated.

Dean grinned proudly. "Nice job, Dr. Venkmen." He told Sam. "Let's check it out."

"He _is_ a total Venkman." I grinned at Dean. "That makes you Stengler."

Dean sneered at me. "Ugh. No. I'm Stantz."

"Sure about that?"

"Yeah well that makes you Janine."

"Good. That woman was a badass."

Sam ran to catch up to us. "Thanks for helping clean."

"Oh...my bad, dude." I apologized.

Sam sighed. He gave his brother a glare over my shoulder. "It's fine."

"Next time. For sure." I promised. "Hold me to it."

So we walked out of the library.

==DG==

At 9 Mile Road, Dean pulled the car to the side of the road. I'd just finished adding the salt cream to the jackets. Well to mine. Sam was against it, and Dean tossed his to me while he pulled the rock-salt guns from the trunk.

I brushed it down on the sleeves. Yeah there wasn't an actual ghost, but this saved time for later.

Dean handed Sam the rifle. "Here you go." Dean stated.

"If it is a spirit, buckshot won't do much good." Sam commented in complaint.

"Yeah, rock salt." Dean pulled out the rock salt bullets. He handed some to Sam.

"Huh. Salt being a spirit deterrent. Like with Raven's salt cream." Sam reasoned.

I grinned widely "Yep. It doesn't kill 'em, but it slows 'em down."

Dean pulled out the rope, slamming the trunk shut. "I know. It's awesome." He grinned like an excited child...which he was.

"That's pretty good." Sam praised. "You come up with this, Raven?"

"No way. The jackets, yeah, but only because Dean came up with the bullets." I explained.

"Really?" Sam turned to his smug brother.

"I told you." Dean replied. "You don't have to be a college graduate to be a genius."

There was a noise in the trees. We all stopped.

"Over there. Over there." Dean whispered.

Sam raised the rifle towards the trees. Then the thing came out. The town sheriff.

"Put the gun down now! Now! Put your hands behind your head." The sheriff ordered.

The three of us went down.

"W-w-wait, okay, okay!" Dean yelled back.

"Now get down on your knees. Come on, do it! On your knees!" The sheriff ordered. Barely holding back from rolling my eyes, I went on my knees. "Now get down on your bellies. Come on, do it!"

"He had the gun!" Dean excused.

==DG==

Dean and I led Sam out of the sheriff department, that next morning.

"Saved your ass!" Dean remarked, patting Sam on the shoulder. "Talked the Sheriff down to a fine. Dude, I am Matlock."

"I'm totally Elle Wood." I boasted.

"But how?" Sam asked.

"I told him you were a dumbass pledge and that we were hazing you." Dean explained.

"What about Raven?" Sam asked.

"I was the hot chick that made you forget all sense." I answered. Sam snorted.

"What about the shotgun?" Sam asked.

"I said that you were hunting ghosts and the spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank." Dean explained.

"And he believed you guys?" Sam asked.

"Well, you look like a dumbass pledge." Dean reasoned.

Sam made a face.

"Aww don't be like that Sam. It gives you lines. We'll need that dumbass pledge excuse again someday." Sam's face got worse. It got Dean and I laughing.

Our laughter was broken by the many officers running out of the department building.

==DG==

Dean drove us past the sorority house. A large crowd of people and first responders were surrounding the house. We saw Lori on the back of an ambulance, curled under a shock blanket.

So now the brothers knew something had gone wrong in the house. Dean drove further up the road until the car was well hidden from any crowd.

"I think I should go in." I suggested.

"No way. We got this." Dean assured.

"I stayed in the car last time, it's your turn." I countered. Dean turned around in his seat to look at me. "What? I'll take pictures, tell you everything I see in there. Plus it's a sorority you too get caught, you're not smiling your way out."

Sam turned too. He seemed about ready to agree with his brother, before seeing my face and then glancing at Dean's. "You know I think she should go."

"You're not serious."

Sam shrugged. "She can handle it. She's a hunter too."

"But-"

"You just want to see a naked pillow fight." I pointed out.

Dean was too slow denying it.

"Dean." Sam sighed, while I opened the car door.

"Bye boys."

"Wait hold on-" I climbed out of the car, pausing a moment to peak in by Sam. Dean grinned. "If you _do_ see a naked pillow fight-"

"Buy it on pay per view." I told him, walking away. "Sam keep your brother from being an idiot. I know it's a hardship for you both."

"Hey!"

I was already gone, if Sam said anything else.

Five minutes later, I came back with the pictures of Lori's wall.

Yeah five minutes. A personal best.

I remember this one time, though, it took Darcy six minutes and that's because she _did_ find a naked pillow fight. Oh the things that go on in horror film realities...

' _You won't get emotional right now.'_ I scolded myself. ' _Criers get slapped. Cry on your own time.'_

==DG==

After the boys saw the pictures, Sam pulled out the picture of the old reverend's hook. That had said all the lines, so as far as I was concerned, everything was going smoothly.

"Is that it?" I asked, nodding with my head at the symbol on the hook.

"It's the same symbol. Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Karns." Sam agreed.

"All right, let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down." Dean instructed.

Sam searched the document. "' _After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave.'_ "

I groaned up at the sky.

"Super." Dean remarked dryly.

"Ok. So we know it's Jacob Karns. But we still don't know where he'll manifest next." Sam reminded us as we moved to the car doors. Why we'd even needed to leave the impala to read that paper, I have no idea. Sure it had been in the trunk but that's a weak excuse. "Or why."

"I'll take a wild guess about why." Dean turned to look at me. "I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this."

I hated that I couldn't say anything in her defense.

==DG==

The college party was raging.

I pointedly ignored it, sitting outside by the car.

Sam and I had researched for a good long while about the information he was currently telling Dean. After all that long stuck in a research building, the last thing I wanted was to go inside a crowded college party. I'd had enough of those my first go around in college.

' _If I never go to a wet-shirt party again, I might recover'_

Then I grinned.

' _Darcy would've loved this thing._

 _Every part of it._

 _I wouldn't see her for three days when she'd go to these parties._

 _With even more pictures of her adventures on the way._

 _Heck, I think the college party scene was the last place I left her alone before-'_ My thoughts paused, with fond memories sweeping back over me. ' _Before I introduced her to Lilac...fuck now I have emotions. Fuck, shit fuck.'_

I let out a long breath, seeing the chill March air condense it.

' _Gonna catch 'em all, cause she's Danny Phantom.'_ I giggled to myself.

"Hey. Do I know you?"

Looking up, I saw the same average looking college boy from earlier. _Author's fucking storyline I will end you._

"I can and will cut off your dick." I reminded him.

Recognition lit up his eyes. The boy ran off towards the party, past a confused Sam and Dean.

Dean got the car first. "What'd you do to the kid?"

I shrugged, the picture of innocence. "Don't think he likes jokes."

"Doesn't like _your_ jokes." Sam corrected, grinning while climbing into his seat. Dean was grinning too- trying to avoid looking at me to hide it.

I scoffed, opening my car door. "Nah. I'm hilarious."

==DG==

Sam and I were waiting outside the Sorensen house. The father and daughter were arguing inside.

After reading their lips for a moment, I snorted.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." I giggled, turning away from the window. "Just that Pastor Perfect is sleeping with a married woman."

Sam's eyes widened. "No way."

"Yep." I tapped my forehead. "Can read lips. Right now, he's saying that the woman's getting divorced soon. So hey, he's not a big a dick as he could be."

Sam snorted, shaking his head.

Though as I'm talking to him about this, the two of us walked over to a nearby bench. I sat down on it, reclining and fidgeting with the strap on the Bag.

Sam sat down beside me, keeping watch over the house. "Uh, Raven?"

"Yeah Sam?"

"Are you..alright?" Sam asked. I tilted my head at him. "You know, with the dreams?"

That got my fidgeting with the strap again. "Better, yeah. But that's not what you're asking. You wanna know if I saw that girl die last night."

Sam winced. "You don't have to say-"

"I didn't, actually." I answered. "Managed to keep the demons at bay for a night."

 _Which is actually, the most apt description I can give._

"Yeah?" Sam inquired, as though not believing that.

I nodded. "You know, I used to have a lot of nightmares when I was younger." _Like, on and off over the past forty years._ "Got fed up with it, missed sleep. My sister too. We trained in meditation for three months before putting them to the test. Worked like a charm. It took time to get my head back in the space."

"It works?" Sam asked, sounding too curious to be just conversation.

"Yeah." I glanced at Sam. "Takes a lot of work though. It was basically an advanced lucid dreaming, ya know? It takes a lot of concentration to change your dream when you're inside it, especially when everything in that dream is trying to scare you." A fond laugh came out of my throat. "Ivy couldn't ever get it right. Said meditation was too boring. She could never sit still..."

' _Plus she never had nightmares._

 _Well except for that one time...she never told me what happened but she kept whimpering about a Buddhist temple...never got an explanation from her about that...what a weird fear.'_

"Your sister...sounds really great."

"Yeah. She is." Looking down at my Bag, I toyed my thumb across one of the buttons. "Huge bitch though. Siblings always are, right?"

Sam smiled, laughing below his breath. "They really are." He leaned back on the bench. "You were the older one, yeah?"

" _Eldest, huh?" Jack Harkness asked Darcy._

" _Oldest. Big difference." Darcy told him, no doubt grinning like she'd dropped the biggest one liner in all of history._

"It was the running joke. I was a tiny bit older- Ivy loved rubbing it in my face." I recalled. "And I wasn't even _that_ much older than her." _Just a hundred fifty years. Practically nothing._ "Didn't stop her from calling me an old hag. You're the little sibling, you know."

Sam laughed at the idea of being the little one. "Yeah. Dean used to rub it in my face that he was the 'big brother'. Then I grew an inch taller than him-"

"-and the tables turned. Ha!" I laughed. An Emotion hit me in the chest. My eyes quickly started to water, despite my efforts to push them away. "I miss her."

"Of course you do." Sam assured, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay."

"I miss her like- like-" I took a deep breath, wiping my hand over my cheek. "-like...she was _everything,_ Sam. _Everything._ And now- now I have to go on? Without her? What kind of person can just...without them?" I asked.

I wondered- not for the first time- how I survived a century without Darcy, instead of going insane.

 _Then again, looking back...I had gone insane a time or twelve._

Sam squeezed my shoulder.

I wiped at my cheeks, forcing the Emotions to fucking go back cause I didn't need this right now.

Lori walked up. I'd been so caught up with Sam I almost missed her approaching. Sam and I moved over, so that Lori could sit down next to me.

"I saw you both from upstairs. What are you doing here?" Lori asked.

"Just sitting on a bench." I mused, idly stretching my legs out towards the grass. "This is a good bench to sit on."

Lori- though still looking upset from the fight- smiled. "Okay. Really."

"We're keeping an eye on the place." Sam answered. Lori gave him a look. "We were worried."

"About me?" Lori asked.

"Yeah. Sorry." Sam replied.

"No, it's cool. I already called the cops." Lori joked. It got Sam and I to laugh. "No, seriously. I think you're both sweet. Which is probably why you should run away from me as fast as you can."

"Hey now, just cause you're hogging all the space on the bench doesn't mean we need to leave." I remarked. "Or are you just trying to get rid of us?"

"No. You should really go." Lori went on, as if what she was going to say next was totally normal. Which in this show, it kinda is. "It's like I'm cursed or something. People around me keep dying."

"I think I know how you feel."

"Yeah."

There was a pause, as each of us no doubt recalled all the death that had surrounded us for basically our entire lives. Or maybe just the more recent ones.

"No one will talk to me anymore. Except for the two of you." Lori spoke. "The Sheriff thinks I'm a suspect. And you know what my dad will say? Pray. Have faith. What does he know about faith?"

I snorted, derisively. I'd heard that a time or two. Growing up in a church _sucks-_ especially when you're a pastor's kid who has superpowers you're only half certain don't make you a witch. The Spencer's weren't the most attentive parents on that front either. It's hard to fell connected to them, when you've just _died_ for the first time _in your life_ and your pastor/father only notices the nightmares so he says to ' _pray'_.

Plus if Chuck really was God, then no wonder my prayers never got heard.

 _I asked for Morgan Freeman, and all I got was Chuck Shurley._

 _Goddamn bastard._

"We heard you and him fighting." I stated, nodding my head at the Sorensen window.

"He's seeing a woman. A married woman." I shook my head, clicking my tongue at him in shame. "I just found out. She comes to our church with her husband. I know her kids. And he talks to me about religion? About morality?" Lori vented. "It's like, on one hand, you know, just do what you want and be happy. But he taught me, raised me to believe that if you do something wrong you will get punished. I just don't know what to think anymore."

In that, a flash memory came to me, about Darcy when she was just that stupid kid in Chicago with a bloody knife in her hands after she killed another foster parent. I remember the lecture I gave to her- mostly me trying to keep from hugging her or crying in fear cause my sister had almost died and we both hated _Emotions_ but anger was okay. I remember telling Darcy that she couldn't kill everyone. She asked for a definition of who couldn't be killed.

In the end, that's how we came up with the system. Or who she could kill. Pedophiles, serial killers, rapists, the _bad ones._ Occasionally she'd mess up- kill the wrong neighbor or make the body too public. She'd have a sex party that ended in a few bodies. One memorable time she killed the wrong serial killer- by accident.

But she tried.

Like _hell_ , had she tried.

 _Cause I asked her to._

 _And just what did that make me?_

"That's rough, Lori, I'm sorry." I apologized. My hand went to her shoulder, squeezing it. Lori sniffled, so I squeezed tighter. "It's tough. When you have to question everything you know."

Lori nodded. Her expression open and full of doubt. She looked up at me, with her big eyes watering. She held her arms up. Trapped in social convention, I let her hug me.

Which left Sam an awkward third wheel.

"Lori." I began. "Does that means your friend needed to be punished?"

Lori tensed.

"Or your boyfriend?"

Lori tightened her arms around me.

"Well?"

"Lori?" Reverend Sorensen called from the house. Our hug ended, while Lori turned to glare at the front door of her house. "Come inside, please."

Lori's shoulders squared back as she glared. "I'll come in when I'm ready."

Then to back her up, Hook Man popped up in black smoke behind Reverend Sorensen. His hook dropped onto Sorensen's shoulder, making the Reverend scream out in pain. The Hook Man used that to drag his new victim inside, slamming the door shut.

Lori screamed. Sam shot up, running to the door. I stood up, standing in front of Lori.

"Is that necklace silver?" I demanded.

Lori continued to scream.

"Lori! Listen!" I tried to keep from shouting, choosing instead to use 'Mom Voice'. "Is your necklace silver?"

"Yes!" Lori screamed.

"Hand it over!" I ordered. "Hand it over- fast!"

Lori took off the necklace handing it to me. She pushed me aside, rushing towards the door.

Kneeling down I searched the Bag for a lighter- I had a bunch of extras from the last time I bought them. One too many salt-and-burns and you learn to buy extras. When I found it, I ran inside.

The fireplace was waiting, completely exposed. I lit the lighter, throwing it inside. The logs inside _whooshed_ to life, quickly catching fire.

Two rifle shots went off upstairs.

It was only because of my extensive self defense training that I ducked into time to avoid a hook to the shoulder. "SAM!" I yelled, moving to the side to avoid another swing.

The Hook Man chased after me. A part of me thinks it was mostly luck that I avoided being hit.

Sam came down the stairs. His eyes widened at the sight of Hook Man. "Raven!" He yelled. He raised the rifle, firing it.

It went through Hook Man, hitting a glass vase. The ghost froze, popping away in black smoke and popping up behind Sam.

"Hey!" I shouted. Hook Man turned to me. "Enjoy the heat!"

I threw the necklace into the fire.

The hook melted first. Hook Man stared at it with what I could guess was horror. He screamed out as the rest of his body went up in flames.

With that done, I fell back onto the Sorensen couch.

 _Great._

 _What a time saver._

 _Now I want a nap._

==DG==

We'd taken the Sorensen family to the hospital. Lori was with her father, the Reverend laying in a drugged sleep on a hospital cot. Sam and I spoke to the police, just outside in the hall.

"We were just talking. Then Lori's dad came out. And then he appeared." Sam explained.

"A big man? Carrying a weapon, some kind of hook?" The Sheriff prompted.

Lori glanced up.

I looked down at my shoes.

"Yes, sir." Sam answered.

"And you, you saw it too?" The Sheriff prompted me.

' _Well I was the one that burned up his ghost- so yeah I think I saw it.'_

"Yes sir." I replied, half mumbling from the exhaustion of the past few hours hitting hard.

"Ever seen him before?" The Sheriff asked us.

"No, sir." Sam answered. I shook my head.

"Now listen, kids, it seems every time I turn around, I'm seeing you." The Sheriff remarked. "I suggest you try to stay out of trouble-"

"Yes, sir." Sam replied.

"Of course sir." I nodded.

Down the hall, we heard Dean. A quick look showed him being blocked by two sheriffs. "No, it's alright, I'm with them. He's my brother, she's a friend." Dean made eye contact with Sam. "Hey! Brother!"

He smiled and waved.

I waved.

"Let him through." The Sheriff with us instructed.

They followed the order.

Sam and I walked to meet Dean in the middle.

"Sam. You ok?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Sam answered.

"Raven?" Dean asked. I nodded, feeling only more exhausted. "Raven."

"I'm _fine_." I stressed.

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked us.

"Hook Man." Sam replied.

Dean's eyes widened. "You saw him?"

"Damn right." Sam turned to me. "How did you know it was her necklace?"

"While you were doing research, I did some of my own into the hook. It was a part of him, just like the rest of him. Good thing that I did." I reported. "Turns out, the hook was melted down not long after the original pastor's death. It was given to Reverend Sorenen's church. Though I had no idea what as until I saw Lori's necklace. Silver, I checked, just like the hook. My guess is, she was given it as a church heirloom, like every other pastor's daughter. Checked that too: all the suspected pastors had daughters. They wanted them protected too- with a necklace that always ended up back in the church."

"Huh." Dean came to my side, watching Lori.

"She had no idea." I defended.

"You sure about that?" Dean questioned.

"She was convinced that if you did something wrong, you got punished. I think using a ghost to kill people counts as ' _something wrong_ '. I bet if Lori had any idea what she was really doing, it would've killed her next."

"So...she was in control of Hook Man." Dean reasoned.

"With no idea. As far as she knew, it was a curse on her specifically." I argued. "She was _scared_ for her dad. Screaming out eardrums, scared. She wouldn't have sent Hook Man after him to kill him if she had a clue."

"And it makes sense. She was really angry at her father." Sam pointed out. "Last night she found out her father is having an affair with a married woman."

"Ok, so she's conflicted. And the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching on to repress the emotions and maybe he's doing the punishing for her, huh?" Dean joined in.

"Right. Rich comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make her into a party girl, Dad has an affair." Sam listed.

"And if she thought it was wrong, Hook Man would come in." I finished.

There was a small moment of silence. The brothers looked over at Lori. I followed their sight, seeing Lori holding her father's hand. Her hand was shaking still.

"Does she know?" Dean asked in a low voice.

"Should she?" I countered.

Dean's lack of reply was answer enough.

==DG==

We made it outside. Dean went to the car with Sam. I lagged behind, my thoughts going off in the distance.

How was it I got an actual night of rest, yet I'm more exhausted?

 _Fuck emotions._

"Raven?"

Turning around, I saw Lori coming out of the hospital. Her cheeks were wet, her eyes had heavy bags and were red, and she _did not_ look okay.

"I thought you were going to stay with him." I remarked.

Lori sucked in a breath. "My necklace."

"Sorry. Caught fire." I heard myself saying, wondering when I lost my mind.

She took another breath. "Was- was that why-" She gulped down what I guessed was a sob. "Was it my fault?"

I kept a wince off my face.

"Raven. Was it my fault?" Lori asked. "Were they punished because of me?"

"You don't want to know."

"But- But my dad was hurt because I was _so mad_ \- and you took my necklace and then the Hook Man- he stopped." Lori swallowed down another sob. "Was it because of me?"

"It was Hook Man. Not you. It just took advantage of your anger." I assured her. "Go back inside. Talk to your dad. Everything is going to be okay."

Lori sucked in one last sob.

My hand reached out, squeezing her shoulder. Lori started to break down.

"No, hey no stop." I instructed. "It's okay. We stopped him. He's not gonna come back. _We stopped him._ And _that_ was because of you."

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the brothers sitting in the car.

"I need to go." I told Lori. "There are- I don't have time to explain. Just- know that you're safe now. Everyone is. Okay? Do you understand?"

Lori nodded. "Thank you."

"No- no. You don't need-"

" _Thank you."_ Lori was crying now. _Fuck!_ "Really, thank you. It- I still don't know what happened. But I do know you saved my father's life. Thank you."

I gave her an awkward smile, before pulling away from her. Once free I made a mad dash to the car.

In my seat, I let out a long fucking emotion filled breath. Cause I was _this close_ to losing my mind.

"We could stay."

"Choke on a cock." I remarked. Putting my Bag down on the seat, I laid down on the seat. "Just drive."

The car kicked in gear.

I let my eyes slide close.

And I dreamt about my sister, us celebrating another birthday- instead of a gruesome murder.

I'm not sure which I preferred.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: To be honest, I was just done with this chapter. WOOHOO. This felt like the kind of thing Morgan/Raven would do if she was just fed up with something. The Emotions were too strong- they needed to die. Too many reminders of Darcy. BOOM. Episode over. Move on. Speed past go. That's my excuse and it's the hill I will die on.**

 **...fuck now I have to write** _**Bugs**_ **.**

 **Thanks to KingPenguinJG for favoriting and following**


	10. Bugs

Sam was reading his newspaper-more specifically the article about the first man killed by the bugs.

I was reading a book. It had been a boring week so I punished myself with an equally boring book. Since we left the college campus, not much had happened. I managed to save us two days. A great thing- except that meant two whole days of boredom while waiting for _Bugs_ to start.

 _Ugh. Bugs._

After a quick talk I'd kept Dean close enough to the town so Sam would find the article. A lot of bars with college kids? Easy money for pool hustles. Plus, hot chicks. Dean was all for it. Sam was cursing his existence.

The book was boring. I tossed it away into my Bag. Instead I grabbed a notebook. The boring book had given me an idea before it went full boring. Finding a blank page I got to work on an upgrade for my _Night Mistress_ rocket boots. They were great, but they could always be better.

Sam glanced up at me from the article. Swept up in the upgrade designs, I ignored him. "Hey I think I got-"

"Hush." I jotted down the formula, plus some math to back it up.

"What?"

"Said hush!" Finding a decent place to pause, I turned my head to him. "What?"

"I think I found a case." Sam moves the newspaper towards me.

Which I completely ignored, going back to the equations before I lost my train of thought. "Great. Tell Dean."

Sam scoffed, dry as the bitch face. "If he stopped hustling at pool long enough." He glared off in the direction of the bar.

"Hey would you rather he robbed a bank to get money?" I remarked.

"No. I'd like us to get honest jobs- _real_ jobs."

I snorted. "Neither of you would last a _day_ in a real job."

" _I_ would." Sam argued. "I had to, when I left. Once I did it, I was proud."

"Yeah but I bet you were bored." I was swept up in calculations after that.

Before Sam could make an argument against it Dean walked out of the bar. He laughed with confidence as he came back to the Impala. He showed off the wad of cash he'd won.

"You know, we could get day jobs once in a while." Sam reminded him.

"Hunting's our day job. And the pay is crap." Dean countered, counting his winnings..

"Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams?" Sam listed. "It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean."

"Well, let's see honest. Fun and easy." Dean held up his two hands. The hand with the money dropped lower. He shrugged helplessly at Sam. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."

"Yeah, well, how we were raised was jacked." Sam snarked.

"Yeah, says you." Dean snarked back. "Hey Raven?"

I glanced up. "Huh?"

Dean was giving me a 'come on don't leave me alone with this'. "We got a new gig or what?"

"Ask your brother." I pointing my thumb at Sam.

"So do we?" Dean asked Sam.

"Maybe." Sam hopped off the car. "Oasis Plains, Oklahoma- not far from here. A gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob."

"Huh?" Dean asked.

"Human mad-cow disease." I supplied. While I was writing the calculations I ended up tilting the notebook sideways.

"Mad cow. Wasn't that on Oprah?" Dean wondered.

That actually made me look up from the notebook. "You watch Oprah?" Sam asked, surprised.

"So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?" ' _Nice save, Dean.'_

"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear." Sam explained. "But this guy, Dustin? Sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less."

"Okay, that's weird." Dean conceded.

"Yeah. Now, it _could_ be a disease." Sam admitted before giving Dean a serious look. "Or it could be somethin' much nastier."

"All right. Oklahoma." Dean cheered. "Hey. Raven."

"Huh?" I replied without looking up.

"Mind getting off the hood?"

"No. I like it up here."

"Fine. Stay. I'll just start driving."

"Do it. I like the breeze."

Dean paused. He looked at me, then the car. He shrugged, walking to the driver's seat.

"Uh- Dean-" Sam began.

Before he could say anything, Dean reached in through the window and honked the horn.

" _BLOODY SH-"_ I snarked, clutching my chest. Whirling around I glared at Dean.

He was grinning smugly. "Now get off my car."

Complaining under my breath all the while, I climbed off. Dean continued to grin. Sam joined us in the car.

"Man. Work, work, work." Dean cheered, climbing down into the seat. "No time to spend my money."

Settling in the backseat, I got back to work on the boots. If anything it was keeping me from choking Dean from behind.

 _Honk a mother fucking car horn at me. You're fucking dead, dickweed._

==DG==

The three of us made it to Oklahoma before long.

We arrived at the building the next day.

"Travis Weaver?" Sam asked, walking up to the man.

"Yeah, that's right." Travis replied.

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean asked.

"Dustin never mentioned nephews." He glanced at me. "Mentioned a niece, though."

"He talked about me?" I stepped up beside Dean.

Travis hummed. "Sorta. Said you were blonde."

"Dyed it. College, you know how it is." I brushed off. "He told me all about how amazing and smart you are."

"He said you were the greatest." Dean threw in.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

Travis beamed. "Oh, he did? Huh."

"Listen, we wanted to ask you... what exactly happened out there?" Dean asked him.

"I'm not sure. He fell in a sinkhole, I went to the truck to get some rope, and, uh... by the time I got back-" Travis trailed off.

"What'd you see?" I asked

"Nothin'. Just Dustin." Travis replied.

"No wounds or anything?" Sam joined in.

"Well, he was bleeding... from his eyes and his ears, his nose. But that's it."

"So you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. That's what the doctors are sayin'." Travis replied.

"But if it was, he would've acted strange beforehand, like dementia, loss of motor control." Sam pointed out. "You ever notice anything like that?"

"No. No way." Travis answered. "But then again, if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?"

"Good point. Uncle Dusty was right, you're a thinker." I praised him. Travis smiled again.

"You know, can you tell us where this happened?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Travis nodded.

==DG==

Once at the scene of the sinkhole, I shuddered.

 _Bugs_.

 _So many Chuck-damned bugs._

 _Why did it have to be bugs?!_

The three of us walked to the sinkhole itself. I stayed on the other side of the police tape- unwilling to even get close to the damn thing for fear of the monsters.

"Huh. What do you think?" Dean asked, kneeling down by the sinkhole.

"I don't know. But if that guy, Travis, was right, it happened pretty damn fast." Sam stated. He shined his flashlight down there- Dean too.

There was a pause.

Dean looked back to me. "Feel like helping anytime soon?"

"Nope." I answered.

"Scared of a little dirt?"

"Petrified."

"Come on, you've been dirtier." Dean reminded me.

"And traumatized by the encounters, so I will ignore it." I replied. "Alright. If it wasn't mad-cow disease, could it have been a creature of some sort? The kind that eat brains?"

"No, there'd be an entry wound." Sam countered. "Sounds like this thing worked from the inside."

"Huh. Looks like there's only room for one." Dean glanced over his shoulder at me.

"You will have to throw me down." I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. "If you do, just remember I will eventually climb _out_."

Dean acknowledged the threat on his life with the same nonchalance as always. "You wanna flip a coin?" He asked Sam, already going for the rope.

"Dean, we have no idea what's down there." Sam told him.

"All right, I'll go if you're scared. You scared?" Dean challenged.

"Flip the damn coin." Sam demanded.

Dean chuckled as he pulled out the coin. "All right, call it in the air... chicken." He flipped it.

Sam caught it. "I'm going."

"I said I'd go." Dean argued, not even trying to stop Sam from tying the rope around himself.

"I'm going." Sam insisted.

"All right." Dean conceded.

"See you on the other side, Sam." I saluted him.

"Don't drop me." Sam warned Dean, who had grown a too-brotherly grin on his face.

==DG==

In the car, I was sitting behind Dean. As from from the beetle in Sam's hand as possible. Plus the one in his hair he hadn't spotted yet.

"So you found some beetles. In a hole, in the ground." Dean remarked dryly. "That's shocking, Sam."

"There were no tunnels, no tracks. No evidence of any other kind of creature down there." Sam reminded him. "You know, some beetles do eat meat. Now, it's usually dead meat, but-"

"How many of them were down there?" I asked.

"Ten." Sam answered.

"It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain." Dean pointed out.

"Well, maybe there were more." Sam stated.

Just the mental image that produced...I shuddered. _Man am I happy that I remembered a way to stop the dreams. If I had to watch all the bug related deaths I'd go insane._

"I don't know, it sounds like a stretch to me." Dean shrugged.

"Then we do a canvas for more information. Not a hard ask." I pointed out to him. "Check to see if anything else has happened that's similar."

Dean wasn't paying attention though. He was looking over Sam's shoulder.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I know a good place to start." Sam and I looked out at the sidewalk, seeing a sandwich board with red balloons. "I'm kinda hungry for a little barbeque, how 'bout you guys?" I grinned, trying to hide the growing fear inside of me. "What, we can't talk to the locals?" Dean asked the unfriendly looking Sam.

"And the free food's got nothin' to do with it?"

"Of course not. I'm a professional."

"Right."

After a few more minutes of driving, Dean pulled up to the house.

The three of us walked up towards the house.

"Growin' up in a place like this would freak me out." Dean shuddered.

"Yeah." ' _Well I actually_ did _grow up in a place like this...and I would've gone insane if I didn't have these powers._

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Well, manicured lawns, ' _How was your day, honey?'_ I'd blow my brains out." Dean pointed out.

"I couldn't take it. Stuck in one place? Forever? Ugh." I grimaced.

"There's nothing wrong with 'normal'." Sam told us both.

"I'd take our family over normal any day." Dean countered.

"Normal is too...abnormal for me." I stated. ' _A normal life? In a normal house? Are you joking? My daughter grew up in a house where she had a mom and a wine aunt raising her, and her moms turned out to be humans who could travel realities and also my daughter was a dragon and we lived in a land of magical talking ponies. If we had done it normal...Author's Name I don't want to think of a world like that.'_

' _Also a big f-u to Chuck Shurley, wherever he is, for making me think about raising Lilac in a normal fashion. Fuck you, Chuck, damn you to the Cage.'_

We'd reached the door by then. Dean knocked.

Larry Pike opened the door. "Welcome." He greeted.

"This the barbeque?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, not the best weather, but..." Larry glanced towards the gloomy sky. "I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are...?"

"Dean. This is Sam and that's Raven." Dean introduced. He and Larry shook hands.

"Sam, Raven, Dean, good to meet you. So, you three are interested in Oasis Plains?" Larry asked.

"Yes, sir." Dean answered.

"Let me just say-we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or...sexual orientations or life styles." Larry explained.

My eyes widened at his suggestion.

"We're brothers, and she's a friend." Dean corrected him, realizing fast what the developer was implying.

Larry made a face of embarrassed surprise.

Sam jumped in on the bandwagon- but I couldn't tell if he was fighting back a genuine smile or an awkward one. "Our father is getting on in years, and we're just lookin' for a place for him."

"They asked me in for moral support." I added.

"Great, great. Well, seniors are welcome, too. Come on in." Larry opened the door wider for us. He guided us into the backyard, where the barbeque was going on strong.

"You said you were the developer?" Sam prompted.

"Eighteen months ago, I was walking this valley with my survey team." Larry explained. "There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels. And you know what, we built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains." Larry brought us over to his wife. "This is my wife, Joanie."

"Hi there." Joanie greeted.

"Hi." Dean shook her hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you."

"Sam, Raven, and Dean." Larry introduced.

Sam shook her hand. "Sam."

"Pleasure."

"Raven." I shook her hand too.

"Great." Joanie smiled so brightly it could've gone _ding_.

"Tell them how much you love the place, honey. And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses." Larry pretended to whisper, probably thinking it was funny.

"Right." The couple laughed.

"Folks, will you excuse me?" Larry walked away.

"Don't let his salesman routine scare you. This really is a great place to live." Joanie assured us.

 _No._

Lynda popped up behind Joanie. "Hi, I'm Lynda Bloome, head of sales."

 _I hope you die like Heather Chandler._

"And Lynda was second to move in. She's a very noisy neighbor, though." Joanie cautioned with a teasing grin. She left all the same.

"She's kidding, of course." Lynda laughed, in a way that only made me want to leave now. She doesn't even really do anything overtly awful in this episode- and I still wanted her dead on principle alone. "I take it you three are interested in becoming homeowners."

"Well..."

"Uh..."

"Y-yeah, well..."

"Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or...sexual orientations and lifestyle." Lynda smiled too forcefully.

 _This is worse._

 _This is literally worse than any of the millions of times Darcy tried to get me out on dates with girls._

 _This is worse than that._

 _Chuck I hope you can read my mind and know that I swear death upon you._

"Right. Um... I'm gonna go talk to Larry." Dean chuckled awkwardly. "Okay, honeys?" He asked Sam and me before walking away. He made sure to smack Sam's ass before going too far. Which was great, cause for a second I thought-

Nope.

Nope he just smacked my ass too.

 _I was wrong._

 _This was worse._

"I'm going to eat." I walked away from Sam and Lynda, because fuck this episode and everyone in it and everyone writing it.

 _Looking at you, Chuck._

==DG==

"Who can say 'no' to a steam shower? I use mine everyday."

' _Instead of, what, not showering?'_ I thought dryly, having another bite of the chips.

"Sounds great." Sam replied to Lynda, sounding like he'd rather, well _watch_ Bugs than _live_ Bugs.

 _I honestly can't decide which is worse._

Then something on my hand _moved_.

I froze.

Glancing from the corner of my eye, I saw the _thing_ sitting on my hand.

The _bastard_ had moved it to the snacks? _Bastard_.

A scream of fright was trapped in my throat. _Those things_ had _always_ been an issue with me.

I whacked Sam on the arm. He turned to me in surprise. I motioned with my eyes, too freaked out to move in case it jumped on me.

 _Fuck you Chuck._

 _Fuck you._

 _I hope you die in a house fire._

 _Burn in hell you monster._

"Excuse me." Sam asked Lynda. "Could we have a moment alone?"

"Oh, okay." Lynda walked away from us, looking surprised at the interruption.

"It's not gonna hurt you, Raven." Sam informed me. He lifted the _thing_ off my hand.

"It's hurting my heart." I excused through clenched teeth. "Make it go away."

The _abomination_ was lifted off my hand. I did a full body shudder, clutching my hand to my chest. "Oh that was the worst thing to ever happen to me. I'm killing him."

"Killing who?" Sam asked.

"The guy who did it!" I answered.

Sam grinned. "You're scared of spiders?"

"Clowns." I challenged. Sam-wisely- shut up. "Breathe a _word_ to Dean and you will regret it."

Sam nodded, trying to hide a smile. He took the _thing_ back to it's owner. "Is this yours?" He asked Matt.

The _thing_ crawled onto Matt's hand. I started to breathe easier. "You gonna tell my dad?"

"No, if you _swear_ to keep that _thing_ as far from me as you can." I warned him, still clutching my hand to my chest. "Also which one is your dad?"

Matt scoffed. "Yeah, _Larry_ usually skips me in the family introductions."

"Ouch. First name basis with the old man-sounds pretty grim." Sam remarked.

"Well, I'm not exactly _brochure material."_ Matt explained, and damn if that didn't sound 'accidentally overheard'.

"Well, hang in there. It gets better, all right? I promise." Sam assured him.

"When?" Matt asked.

Before Sam could (mangle) muster an answer, Larry showed back up. "Matthew." He marched up to his son's side. "I am so sorry about my son and his... _pet_."

 _Please, sir, call it what it is._

 _A creepy crawly death dealer._

"It's no bother." Sam assured. When I was silent, Sam gave me a look.

"It's fine." I spoke with a fake smile.

"Excuse us." Larry gripped Matthew by the arm, dragging him back through the crowd to the back door.

Dean walked up to us.

"Remind you of somebody?" Sam asked his brother. Dean looked at the father and son, not seeing what Sam saw. "Dad?"

Dean twisted up his face in confusion. "Dad never treated us like that."

"Well, Dad never treated _you_ like that." Sam corrected. _I would literally rather be set on fire than in the middle of this conversation. Or bleaching my hand._ "You were perfect. He was all over my case. You don't remember?"

"Well, maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes, you were out of line."

"Right. Right, like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bowhunting."

"Bowhunting's an important skill."

 _Seriously, there's no bleach on the snack table? Rude bastards._

"Well how about-" Sam started.

"Enough." I gave them both scolding glares. "Dean, did you find anything out during the tour?"

"Oh, the tour was excellent. I'm ready to buy." Dean joked. "So you might be onto somethin'. Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death around here."

"Yeah? What was it?" I asked.

"About a year ago, before they broke ground, one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead while on the job. Get this severe allergic reaction to bee stings." Dean explained.

"More bugs." Sam realized.

"More bugs." Dean agreed.

"More _Bugs_."

==DG==

Back in the car I was sitting behind Sam, who after some unclear reason that I'm still unsure of, was driving. Dean was looking through the journal.

"You know, I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles? What is it that could make different bugs attack?" Dean wondered.

"Well, hauntings sometimes include bug manifestations." Sam tried.

"Except there were no signs of any ghost activity." I spoke up. "Unless Dean-"

"I didn't see any evidence." Dean agree with me.

Sam blew out a sigh.

"Maybe they're being controlled somehow." Dean suggested "You know, by something or someone."

"You mean, like Willard?" Sam asked.

' _Or Pied Piper_

 _Or Ant-man._

 _Or literally anyone else except that guy._

 _Fuck you Chuck.'_

"Yeah, bugs instead of rats." Dean explained.

"There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals - elementals, telepaths." Sam listed.

"Yeah, that whole Timmy-Lassie thing." Dean reasoned. "Larry's kid- he's got bugs for pets."

"Matt?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

"He _did_ try to scare the realtor with a tarantula." He snickered. "Ended up scaring Raven."

"Shut it you crack addled whore!" I whacked his shoulder. "I told you not to tell him!"

"You got scared by a spider?" Dean laughed.

"Airplanes." I challenged.

Dean shut up real quick. "You think he's our Willard?" Dean asked.

"No." I answered.

"Why not?"

"Because he hates all of this but I doubt he'd choose murder as a way to stop it." I reasoned. "Why scare Lynda with the... _thing_ instead of have the thing kill her?"

"Ooh, hey. Pull over here." Dean instructed.

Sam pulled up to the empty house. "What are we doing here?"

Dean climbed out. "It's too late to talk to anybody else." He explained. He pushed open the garage door.

"We're gonna _squat_ in an empty house?" Sam asked.

"I wanna try the steam shower. Come on." I climbed out of the car, walking into the garage. "Come on!"

As the boys settled the Impala in, I ran to the master bedroom before Dean had a chance.

==DG==

I had a shower first thing in the morning- Dean was right, this shower was _awesome._

Dean was rocking out in the shower when the police call came in about Lynda Bloome.

"You ever comin' out of there?" Sam yelled at his brother through the door.

I was walking up the hall, holding up the car keys I had snagged.

"What?"

"Dean, a police call came in on the scanner." Sam yelled again.

"Hold on."

"Someone was found dead three blocks from here. Come on."

Dean pokes his head out from the bathroom, his head wrapped up in a towel. He grinned stupidly. "This shower is awesome."

"I call drivin'!" I told them before rushing to the garage.

==DG==

 _I just drove Baby_

 _I drove the Impala_

 _With no protest from Dean_

 _What_ bizarro _world have we fallen into?!_

At Lynda's house, police were stationed all around. I could see Larry Pike walking away from her house. The police were moving her body to the car.

Sam and Dean stepped out of the Impala, opening up their umbrellas. I opened mine as I climbed out to join them.

We walked up to Larry, who was watching Lynda be placed in the back of the car. "Hello. You're, uh, back early."

"Yeah, we just drove in, wanted to take another look at the neighborhood." Dean replied, looking out over the house.

"What's goin' on?" Sam asked.

"You guys met, uh...Lynda Bloome at the barbeque?" Larry asked.

"We did. She's the realtor, right?" I replied.

"She- Well, she, uh...passed away last night." Larry revealed.

The boys were surprised. "What happened?" Dean asked.

"I'm still tryin' to find out." Larry admitted. "Identified the body for the police. Look, I-I'm sorry, this isn't a good time now."

"It's okay." Sam assured him.

"Excuse me." Larry went back towards the house.

Dean turned to us. "You know what we have to do, right?"

"Yep."

"Yeah. Get in that house." Sam stated.

"See if we got a bug problem." Dean agreed.

Not long after we snuck into the home- jumping over the fence. Dean made it into the house first.

After a few minutes searching we found the scene. Lynda's body outline was still on the floor.

"This looks like the place." Dean mused. He walked inside, reaching for the towel. He picked it up. A handful of dead _things_ fell out.

I screeched, running to hide behind Sam.

"Spiders. From Spider Boy?"

"Matt-maybe."

" _Get rid of them get rid of them get rid-"_

Dean threw one at me.

 _No you're dead too._

==DG==

Like the totally not-suspicious people that we were, we sat in the Impala watching Matt step off the bus then go towards the woods.

"Isn't his house that way?" Dean asked.

"Yup." I answered.

"So where's he goin'?" Dean asked.

"Let's find out." I remarked, climbing out of the Impala.

The three of us walked into the woods. In no time at all we found Matt picking up the next insect for his collection.

"Hey, Matt. Remember me?" Sam asked him.

I stepped forward. "Or me?"

"What are you doin' out here?" Matt asked us.

"Well, we wanna talk to you." Dean replied.

"You're not here to buy a house, are you?" Matt realized. Dean shook his head. "W-wait. You're not serial killers?"

' _Not yet. Put another spider on my hand, then we'll talk."_

"No, no." Sam laughed, Dean too. "No, I think you're safe."

"So, Matt...you sure know a lot about insects." Dean commented.

"And arachnids."

"So?" Matt asked.

"Did you hear what happened to Lynda, the realtor?" Dean carried on.

"I hear she died this morning." Matt actually looked sad at that.

"Mm, that's right. _Spider bites._ " Dean revealed.

I shuddered, clutching my hand to my chest.

"Matt...you tried to scare her with a spider." Sam pointed out to him.

"It _touched my hand_."

"Wait. You think I had something to do with that?"

"You tell us." Dean suggested.

"That tarantula was a joke. I _am_ sorry it got on her." Matt apologized to me. Which saved him _but not Chuck._ "Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas company guy."

"You know about those?" Sam asked.

"There is somethin' going on here. I don't know what... but something's happening with the insects." Matt revealed. "Let me show you something."

Matt led us towards the worm pit, as I hated calling it.

"So, if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad?" Sam asked. I raised my eyes to the sky, wondering when I had been abandoned by God. "Maybe he could clear everybody out."

"Believe me, I've tried. But, uh, Larry doesn't listen to me." Matt explained.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Mostly? He's too disappointed in his freak son." Matt replied.

Sam snorted dryly. "I hear you."

"You do?"

I groaned, begging for the sweet release of death.

"Matt, how old are you?" Sam asked.

"Sixteen."

"Well, don't sweat it, because in two years, something great's gonna happen." Sam hinted.

"What?"

"College." Sam revealed. "You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."

"What kind of advice is that? Kid should stick with his family."

"How about you two keep your stupid noses out of his family issues?!" I snapped. "You've been going on about it _all day_ and I've had enough!"

The three boys jumped.

"Sam quit pushing your insecurities on Matt! I mean it. If I hear _one more word_ out of you about your dad _I will wrong your pathetic neck_!" Then I turned to Dean. "And you! Don't belittle what Sam went through! He had his own experiences just like you, and it's not up to you to tell him how he felt about it! _Now shut the hell up!"_

After my rant, I was left panting in the middle of the woods. All while being stared at by the Winchesters and a sixteen-year-old boy like I was insane.

"Matt. Are we almost there?"

"Yeah." Matt nodded, swallowing. "We're close."

So we got back to the trail. Matt led us to the clearing. Watching with a bored expression, I ignored the many sounds of insects buzzing around me.

"I've been keeping track of insect populations. It's, um, part of an AP science class." Matt admitted.

"You two _are_ like peas in a pod." Dean noted.

Sam and I ignored his comment. "What's been happening?" Sam asked.

"A lot. I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles...you name it. It's like they're congregating here." Matt explained.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." Matt replied.

"What's that?" Sam pointed at the small mound of dirt.

He and the boys walked toward it. I stayed closer to the trees, ignoring every instinct that was begging me to just run away.

Dean stomped on the top of the hill. A gagged noise came from my throat. I turned away.

"There's somethin' down there." Dean commented.

A moment later he pulled out the human skull.

==DG==

We'd driven to a local college, with four skulls in a box...just a normal Tuesday.

"So, a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave." Sam muttered as we started the walk across campus.

"Yeah. Maybe this is a haunting. Pissed off spirits?" Dean guessed. "Some unfinished business?"

"Yeah, maybe. Question is, why bugs? And why now?" Sam wondered.

"That's two questions." Dean pointed out.

I snorted.

Dean glanced at me, then to Sam, them back at me. I rolled my eyes, giving a look telling him to keep from making a scene. "Yeah, so with that kid back there... why'd you tell him to just ditch his family like that?"

"Just, uh... I know what the kid's goin' through." Sam replied.

' _Wrong.'_ I thought. ' _You know what_ you _went through. You're projecting those feelings onto Matt.'_

"How 'bout tellin' him to respect his old man, how's that for advice?" Dean told him.

"Dean, come on." The brothers stopped, which meant I had to stop, which meant I had been dragged into it. Why oh why was I the one carrying the box of skulls? "This isn't about his old man. You think I didn't respect Dad. That's what this is about."

I glared at Dean, warning him I was about to make a scene.

"Just forget it, all right? Sorry I brought it up." Dean huffed.

"I respected him. But no matter what I did, it was never good enough." Sam admitted.

"So what are you sayin'? That Dad was disappointed in you?" Dean asked, an unsure expression on his face.

" _Was_? Is." Sam corrected. "Always has been."

I was done by now. So I snuck past the boys, walking into the college to look for the professor. Cause if I had to listen to this for one more minute I would kill them.

==DG==

The boys showed up just as I had knocked on the door. If I saw anything different about them I resolved to ignore it.

"So, you three are students?" The professor asked.

"Yeah. Anthro 101." I supplied.

"Oh, yeah." He replied, as though trying to recall, was coming up short, but didn't want to disappoint us so he was just going with it.

"So, what about the bones, Professor?" Dean asked.

"This is quite an interesting find you've made." The professor began. "I'd say they're 170 years old, give or take. The timeframe and the geography heavily suggest Native American."

"Were there any tribes or reservations on that land?" Sam asked

"Not according to the historical record. But the, uh, relocation of native peoples was quite common at that time." The professor explained.

"Of course." I replied. "Do you know the any of the local legends? Something _not_ on historical record?"

"Well... you know, there's a Euchee tribe in Sapulpa." The professor recalled. "It's about sixty miles from here. Someone out there might know the truth."

"All right." Dean nodded.

==DG==

After some asking around, we found Joe White Tree in an Oklahoma diner. He was sitting alone, playing a game that looked a lot like solitaire.

"Joe White Tree?" Sam asked. Joe nodded. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right."

Joe invited us to go ahead.

"We're students from the university." Dean lied.

"No, you're not. You're lying." Joe stated.

I had to hide a smile. "Well, truth is-" Dean tried again.

"You know who starts sentence with ' _truth is_ '? Liars." Joe told us.

I snorted then, trying hard not to meet Dean's eyes. "We're working on a case of deaths about an hour downstate."

"Have you heard of Oasis Plains? It's a housing development near the Atoka Valley." Sam offered.

The man gave us both quick looks. Joe turned to Dean. "I like them. They're not liars." Dean huffed in irritation. "I know the area."

"What can you tell us about the history there?" Sam asked.

Joe hummed. He glanced to me. "What kind of deaths?"

"Ugly ones. We think they're connected to the old Native American bones we found in their area." I explained.

"I'll tell you what my grandfather told me, what his grandfather told him." Joe revealed- and yes, I'm also pissed off at the story that I'm about to be told and blame Chuck 200% for it. "Two hundred years ago, a band of my ancestors lived in that valley. One day, the American cavalry came to relocate them. They were resistant, the cavalry impatient. As my grandfather put it, on the night the moon and the sun share the sky as equals, the cavalry first raided our village. They murdered, raped. The next day, the cavalry came again, and the next, and the next. And on the sixth night, the cavalry came one last time. And by the time the sun rose, every man, woman, and child still in the village was dead. They say on the sixth night, as the chief of the village lay dying, he whispered to the heavens that no white man would ever tarnish this land again. Nature would rise up and protect the valley. And it would bring as many days of misery and death to the white man as the cavalry had brought upon his people."

"Insects. Sounds like nature to me. Six days." Dean reasoned.

"And on the night of the sixth day, none would survive." Joe revealed.

The three of us looked at each other.

We moved towards the car.

"When did the gas company man die?" Sam asked.

"Uh, let's see, we got here Tuesday, so, Friday the twentieth." Dean answered.

"That's the spring equinox." I stated.

"The night the sun and the moon share the sky as equals." Dean explained.

"So, every year about this time, anybody in Oasis Plains is in danger." Sam realized. "Larry built this neighborhood on cursed land."

"And on the sixth night- that's tonight." Dean joined in.

"So we need to get started on a plan, or else the Pike's will be dead by sunrise." I finished.

"So how do we break the curse?" Sam asked.

"You don't break a curse. You get out of its way." Dean told us. ' _Well actually there are lots of ways-_ "We've gotta get those people out now."

 _Fuck this episode and everyone in it._

 _These bits of dialogue are literally killing me- especially to take part in them._

==DG==

"Give me the phone." I ordered Dean.

Dean tossed the phone over his shoulder to me.

I dialed Larry Pike's number. He answered on one of the rings.

" _Hello?"_

"Hello, is this Mr Pike?"

" _Yes, this is he."_

"Good, glad that I caught you. This is Officer Raven Quinzel, with the police department. They just handed your case and- umm- well this is really embarrassing."

" _Well what is it? I thought everything was handled."_

"It- well we thought it was. We were going through standard procedure on you and your family, running just a preliminary background check. Not because of anything suspect, just because you were the first to find Ms Bloome. It's all standard in cases like this."

" _Then what's the problem?_ "

"Well sir, you came back clear. It- huh. It seems something popped up when we looked into your son. There's a glitch in the systems and it turns out...gosh this is awkward. There's a felon with the same name as your son. So for some reason we can't quite work out, our systems think they're the same person."

" _What?!"_

"I know! It's insane! But sir there's an easy solution. I'm going to need you to bring your family down to the station. It's only to sign a few forms out for Matt Pike and make sure they're done right. Yes your wife too- there's a minor involved, and in this case I think it's wiser to include both parents."

" _Of course- of course. Thank you."_

He hung up the phone.

I let out a breath, sitting back against the seat.

Dean glanced at me in the mirror. "Did it work?"

"Think so."

"Wow. Nice one."

"Thanks. Happened once to my sister- it was hilarious." ' _Except, to be fair, she'd actually_ done _all the awful things. I just had to hack into police records and split up Darcy into two different people. Darcy laughed about it for weeks.'_ "Sam did you give Matt Dean's number?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Cause he's calling it." I answered. "Matt, buddy, anything scary?"

" _Raven, my backyard is crawling with cockroaches!"_

"That is literally the second scariest thing I can think of. Okay- Matt- I already talked to your dad. He's supposed to be coming to get you in a minute to get you all out of the house. Just in case it doesn't work, I need you to fake an appendix bursting. Can you do that?"

" _Wait, why are we leaving the house?"_

"Backyard full of cockroaches and you're asking why you need to leave the house?" I questioned. "You think those are the only bugs that are gonna come by?"

" _Right- you're right. How do I fake an appendix bursting?"_

"Pain in the side. Like a really sharp pain. Whine and gripe and moan about it. "

" _My dad doesn't listen in the best of circumstances, what am I supposed to tell him?"_

"Well then you better hope the acting is enough to trick Mom- cause that's what'll make it all work." I told him. "And under no circumstance do you tell them the truth, you hear me? _Matt._ "

" _But he's my-"_

"No. Not one word Matt. I will know if you do." I hung up the phone. "How much longer?"

"Not long." Dean answered.

"Raven he needs too tell his dad the truth." Sam argued.

"Sam I told you- one more word about your dad passive aggressively through the Pikes and I will wring your neck."

"It's not- ugh!" Sam turned away from me.

I'd apologize- but I like to think I saved some awkward yelling.

==DG==

 _What the ever loving fuck._

 _Chuck I always knew you hated me most._

"Damn it, they're still here." Dean grumbled. "Come on." He climbed out of the car. I walked out too.

Larry stormed out of his house. "Get off my property before I call the cops." He yelled at us.

"Mr. Pike, listen." Sam began.

Matt walked out of the house too. "Dad, they're just tryin' to help."

"Get in the house!" Larry yelled at his son.

"I'm sorry. I told him the truth." Matt admitted.

"Why?!"

"We had a plan, Matt, what happened to the plan?"

"Look, it's 12:00 AM." Sam warned us. "They are coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go, before it's too late."

"Yeah, you mean before the biblical swarm." Larry snarked.

 _BASTARDS_

"Larry, what do you think really happened to that realtor, huh?" Dean asked. "And the gas company guy? You don't think somethin' weird's goin' on here?"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you're _crazy_." Larry ranted. "You come near my boy or my family again, and we're gonna have a problem."

"Well, I hate to be a downer, but we've got a problem right now." Dean pointed out.

"Dad, they're right, okay? We're in danger." Matt warned.

"Matt, get inside! Now!" Larry yelled.

"No! Why won't you listen to me?!" Matt snapped.

"Because this is crazy! It doesn't make any sense!" Larry argued back.

"Look, this land is cursed!" Sam yelled.

 _The buzzing started_.

I tensed up.

 _Fuuuuuu-_

"People have died here."

 _Shitshitshitshitshit-_

"Now, are you gonna really take that risk with your family?"

"We're too late." I spoke up, hoping that my hands weren't shaking. "Can't you hear it?"

Everyone paused. They turned towards the growing buzzing, seeing the skyline being blocked by the growing wave of bugs.

 _MotherFUCKers-_

"What the hell?" Larry mumbled.

His bug zapper started buzzing- sharper and sharper as more of the smaller bugs came close.

"Inside. Everyone inside!" I ordered them.

"Oh my God." Larry gawked.

 _Nope that bastard abandoned us._

"INSIDE!" I demanded.

Everyone jumped- rushing to the doors. I joined in after that- running after them.

"Okay, is there anybody else in the neighborhood?" Sam asked Larry.

"No, it's just us." Larry replied.

Joanie came downstairs. "Honey, what's happening? What's that noise?" Joanie asked.

"Call 911." Larry instructed. Joanie gawked at us. "Joanie!" He prompted.

Joanie jumped into gear. "Okay."

"Dean go with Larry and find towels." I ordered. "Anything cloth. We'll need it." Dean nodded. He and Larry ran. "Sam! You and Matt- lock every exit. Doors, windows, fireplace. If it exists, cover it up. Move!"

Sam and Matt nodded. They ran up the stairs.

"Joanie?" I prompted.

"Phones are dead." Joanie told me.

"They must have chewed through the phone lines." Dean remarked, walking by me with his arms full of towels. He put them by the door, the exact time the lights went off. "And the power lines."

"Maybe my cell." Larry went for it. I stared at the windows as the bugs piled up. "No signal."

"I see why." I pointed towards the windows. The house was becoming darker. "Those things won't let a signal out. They're covering the house."

Sam and Matt came down. We all watched the windows becoming more and more darkened by the bugs splattering against it.

"Alright." I knelt down, reaching into my Bag. "Bug spray. Where is it?" I prompted Joanie.

"Under the sink." She stammered.

I looked at Dean. He nodded, running out to the kitchen. The rest of us gathered around each other, as the buzzing grew louder.

"Bug spray?" Joanie asked me.

"You got any better ideas?" I questioned her.

Joanie had no response.

"So what do we do now?" Larry asked.

"We try to outlast it. Hopefully, the curse will end at sunrise." Sam answered.

" _Hopefully_?" Larry repeated.

A creaking noise came from the fireplace.

"What is that?" Matt asked.

"The flue." Sam realized.

"All right, I think everybody needs to get upstairs." Dean suggested.

"Good idea. Everyone upstairs!" I yelled.

The bugs flew out.

Every screamed. They ran to the stairs. Dean pulled out the can and a lighter. He started using it to guard us. Sam led the way to the attic. He pulled it open, the Pikes rushed up, the Winchesters and I following.

Sam slammed the attic shut, while Dean kept up the fire brigade.

Once the door was shut though, we could hear the sounds of termites eating through wood.

"Oh, God, what's that?" Joanie pointed at the sudden ring of holes in her roof.

"Something's eating through the wood." Dean stated.

"Termites." Matt explained.

"Get back!" I ordered them. "Over there. Now!" The Pikes moved to the end of the attic. "Dean!" He came to my side. "You fire at the holes. Sam!" Sam turned to me. "Go find a piece of metal that can cover the hole!" He went out for it.

Dean starts blowing fire onto the bugs that come flying in. In no time, Sam had the hole patched over with metal and a wooden beam. Though it was useless when the second hole appeared.

I ran to the Pikes. "Boys! With me now!"

Sam and Dean obeyed.

For awhile, the six of us were hiding away in the corner. There was buzzing all around us. The Pikes were all screaming as the bugs swarmed us. The Winchesters were grunting, swatting the insects away. Myself personally? Hiding under my jacket.

 _Then the fucking sun rose out of the sky._

 _At- what? 12:30 AM in the fucking morning?_

 _What the FUCK CHUCK?!_

==DG==

Later that day, we drove up to the Pike house. There was a moving van outside, already looking pretty loaded with boxes.

"What, no goodbye?" Dean asked, walking up to Larry.

Larry smiled at us. "Good timing. Another hour and we'd have been gone."

"For good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. The development's been put on hold while the government investigates those bones you found." Larry explained. "But I'm gonna make damn sure no one lives here again."

"And you sound just so beat up about it." I joked.

"Well, this has been the biggest financial disaster of my career, but..." Larry looked over to Matt, who smiled back at his father. "...somehow, I really don't care."

Sam walked over to Matt. Dean and I walked back to the car, myself shuddering.

"What?" Dean promoted.

"Nothing- shut up." Dean gave me a confused look. "He had a spider in a glass okay?" Dean snickered. "Shut up. You'll be dead by tomorrow. You'll see. I'll put clowns in places Sam can see- cause he's the bastard that told you, then you'll wake up on an airplane. Sometime you won't expect."

Dean only laughed. "Yeah you do that."

"That a challenge?"

"Nah. That's me calling your bluff." Dean laughed.

" _Lies."_

By that point, Sam had started walking back. He leaned against the car by Dean's side. "I wanna find Dad."

"Yeah, me too." Dean replied.

' _I couldn't care less.'_

"Yeah, but I just... I want to apologize to him." Sam admitted.

"For what?"

"All the things I said to him. He was just doin' the best he could." Sam answered.

"Well, don't worry, we'll find him. And then you'll apologize." Dean assured. "And then within five minutes, you guys will be at each other's throats."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, probably." _Oh definitely_. "Let's hit the road."

"Finally." I moved to climb into the car.

"Let's." Dean agreed. The three of us climbed into our seats, driving away from this _hell._

 **==DG==**

 **AN: If your eyes are bleeding, apologies. I tried to make it look less...this. We shall blame Chuck as he rightfully deserves.**

 **Thanks to FanGirl2315 for favoriting and following**


	11. Home

Well...I'm 196 now.

My birthday was yesterday, which I couldn't tell the boys because I'd already told them my birthday was in September and it was March.

But I was another year older...

It had been four years since I shared a birthday with my sister.

Last year, I spent my birthday alone. Not even Lilac around. Just me, and a boring office job.

Year before that I was, well, in Equestria stopping an invasion. Decent birthday overall.

Wasn't...wasn't that just shit?

That a decent birthday for me involved some world shattering event?

 _At least my birthday wasn't on_ Bugs _. That would've been the real world shattering event._

Since we were cleared from that disgusting town, it had been a relaxing 24 hours. The most relaxing day of my life.

But I _did_ get revenge on Sam for the spider incident.

He shot awake this morning- from what I knew was fresh off a nightmare about his childhood home, only to find a clown doll sitting on his stomach. How did I know these things, when Sam woke up in the middle of the night? Easy.

Sam screamed when he woke up.

It woke Dean and I up.

To Sam, cowering from the clown doll.

Dean was actually concerned. My only response was a wide grin of vindication.

"I warned you not to talk about the spiders." I told the brothers before going back to sleep.

==DG==

Anyway, back to the story.

So Dean was working on his computer for another case. I was finishing up the Night Mistress boot design from yesterday. Sam was drawing multiple pictures of the tree.

"All right. I've been cruisin' some websites. I think I found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali- its crew vanished." Dean explained. I hummed, vaguely paying attention. "And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas. Hey."

I looked up from my designs. Sam also looked up. I wonder if the matching movement freaked Dean out.

"Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?"

"Yes."

"No." Sam gave me a look. "Raven."

"What? Just find a case so we can go."

" _I'm_ listening. Keep going." Sam told his brother.

"And, here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times." Dean explained. I continued to ignore them, finishing yet another equation. "Any of these things blowin' up your skirt, pal?"

Sam didn't reply to his brother. "Wait. I've seen this."

"Seen what?" Dean asked.

Sam got up, rushing to his duffel bag.

"Sam? You good?" I asked, blandly.

Sam pulled out the family photo. He stared at it, then his drawing. "Dean, Raven, I know where we have to go next." He stated.

"Where?" Dean asked.

"Back home- back to Kansas." Sam revealed.

"Hold on- what." That made me look up from my designs. Folding the notebook away I pushed it into my Bag.

"Okay, random. Where'd that come from?" Dean asked.

Sam showed us the photo. "All right, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The house where Mom died?" Sam asked.

Dean stared at the photo, hiding his emotions very well. "Yeah."

"And it didn't burn down, right?" Sam asked. "I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?"

"I guess so, yeah. What the hell are you talkin' about?" Dean asked.

I sat up, watching them with a cautious expression.

"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but….the people who live in our old house- I think they might be in danger."

"Alright." I stood up.

"Hold up." Dean told me. "Why would you think that?" He asked Sam.

"Uh…it's just, um….look, just trust me on this, okay?" Sam requested.

"Alright."

"Wait, whoa, whoa, trust _you_?" Dean repeated.

"Yeah." Sam replied.

"I do. If Sam thinks something is wrong, than it is." I stated.

"Come on, you two, that's weak." Dean scoffed. "You gotta give me a little bit more than that."

"I can't really explain it is all." Sam excused.

"Well, tough. I'm not goin' anywhere until you do." Dean stated.

Sam sighed. I turned to him, giving him a nod of encouragement. He braced himself. "I have these nightmares."

"I've noticed." Dean replied.

"And sometimes….they come true." Sam revealed.

Dean stared. "Come again?"

"Look, Dean...I dreamt about Jessica's death- for days before it happened." Sam revealed further.

"Sam, people have weird dreams, man. I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Dean argued.

"He's telling the truth." I admitted, fiddling with a pen in my hand. "About the dreams. I- I got them too."

Dean gawked at me. He shook his head, looking away from us both.

"I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it." Sam explained in a rambled rush. "And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?"

"I don't know." Dean replied after an uncomfortable pause.

"What do you mean you don't know, Dean?" Sam argued. "This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"

"All right, just slow down, would ya?" Dean stood up, walking away from us both. "I mean, first you tell me that you guys have got the Shining? And then you tell me that I've gotta go back home? Especially when-"

I went up to his side, standing behind him. "When what, Dean?" My voice was calm, and accepting.

"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there?" Dean finished.

I nodded, in understanding of his pain. There had been loads of times I refused to go Home, from the pain of what I would see there. Sometimes home is the last place you want to end up. How can I feel safe there when nobody there believes what I say? Here I am, standing with the Winchester's, and if I told my family (who _knew_ about my powers) that I _must still_ be lying.

When Darcy had died the first time around, I had refused to go back to her home. I was worried I would see her ghost everywhere. In fairness, I did, so I wasn't completely stupid to fear it.

"Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure." Sam pleaded.

Dean braced himself, taking a shuddering breath. "I know we do." He turned away from us.

==DG==

We pulled up to the Winchester house.

My heart went out to them, seeing that gnarled tree in the yard. Twisted in all directions without leaves, looking dead to all the world. It wouldn't surprise me if nature had a problem growing around this house.

"You gonna be alright, man?" Sam asked Dean.

"Let me get back to you on that." Dean replied.

I climbed out from the car. The Winchesters joined behind me. Maybe it was bad form to go faster than them, considering it was their old house. Though if I lagged behind with their negativity I would never get anywhere.

But when I made it to the door, I waited for them. They were taking awhile but it was still their house.

Once Dean arrived I knocked on the door.

The door opened after a short moment, revealing Jenny. "Yes?" She asked.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal-" Dean began to lie.

"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean. That's- that's our friend, Raven. Dean and me, used to live here." Sam explained. "You know, we were just drivin' by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place."

Dean gawked at his idiot brother.

"Winchester." Jenny recalled. Realization lit up her eyes. "Yeah, that's so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked, looking surprised at the idea of having more family photos.

"Come on in." Jenny invited.

She showed us inside. Straight to her kitchen, where Sari and Ritchie were sitting. The toddler was chanting for juice. Sari ignored us.

"That's Ritchie. He's kind of a juice junkie." Jenny excused. She grabbed a sippy cup, handing it to the child. "But, hey, at least he won't get dirty." She smiled at her daughter. "Sari, this is Sam, Raven, and Dean. Sam and Dean used to live here."

The girl gave us an uninterested awkward smile. "Hi."

My phone called out to me, begging me to call Lilac. Begging for just a moment to reach out- a moment to speak with her.

I steeled my resolve- there was time for that later.

"Hello." I waved. Dean did too.

"Hey, Sari." Sam greeted.

"So, you just moved in?" Dean asked Jenny.

"Yeah, from Wichita." Jenny answered.

"You got family here, or...?" Dean asked.

"No. I just, uh...needed a fresh start, that's all." Jenny answered, looking awkward. "So, new town, new job- I mean, as soon as I find one. New house."

It was now feeling incredibly awkward for me, to be standing there. Nervously, I scuffed my shoe on the floor.

"So, how you likin' it so far?" Sam asked.

"Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home- I mean, I'm sure you had lots of happy memories here." Jenny apologized. "But this place has its issues."

' _So do the people who used to live here. OH_!'

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly." Jenny explained.

"Oh, that's too bad. What else?" Dean prompted. He was smiling kindly at Jenny. Not flirting, just his usual suspicious kindness where he didn't want to freak people out.

"Um…sink's backed up, there's rats in the basement." Jenny explained. Her face fell. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

"No." Dean shook his head, still smiling an assurance.

"Umm, excuse me for asking. Did you see the rats, or just heard the scratching?" I asked, just so I wouldn't feel so useless here.

"It's just the scratching, actually." Jenny answered.

"Mom?" Sari spoke up. Jenny went to her daughter's side.

The brothers and I exchanged glances. While I knew something was wrong, Sam also, Dean was becoming more convinced.

"Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

"What, Sari?" Sam asked.

"The thing in my closet." Sari answered.

"Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets." Jenny explained. ' _Except Angels. OH!'_ "Right?"

"Right. No, no, of course not." Sam declined.

Dean shook his head.

"She had a nightmare the other night." Jenny excused.

"I wasn't dreaming. It came into my bedroom- and it was on fire." Sari stated.

Now Dean was completely sold.

And Sam was panicking.

==DG==

"You hear that? A figure on fire." Sam ranted the moment we walked outside.

"And that woman, Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Sam ranted. "And you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit."

"We noticed!" I snapped.

"Yeah, well, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are comin' true." Dean waved his arm around.

We made it to the car by then. Sam's ranting was getting louder. "Well, forget about that for a minute. The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"

"I don't know!" Dean yelled.

"Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam asked.

"We don't know!" I snapped, trying to keep my voice low. "There hasn't been time-"

"Well, those people are in danger, Raven!" Sam snapped back at me. "We have to get 'em out of that house."

"And we will." Dean assured him.

"No, I mean now." Sam demanded.

"And how you gonna do that, huh? You got a story that she's gonna believe?" Dean questioned.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sam growled.

"Boys!" I snapped, getting their attention at last. "Here is what we are going to do: shut up! We're in the middle of the street. We are getting in the car, and driving someplace else. Take a few minutes. Get our heads straight so we can think. Dean, we needed gas right?"

The boys were panting now, letting the anger seep out. It seemed to stew around Sam though.

"Yeah." Dean answered.

"Fine. We'll go to a gas station. Sam. Get it the car." I instructed, bordering on the mom voice. "Dean. Drive."

The boys obeyed with no further complaint.

I huffed. "How the hell did John get them to adulthood with them murdering each other?" I sighed, before climbing in the back.

==DG==

"There. We've had our breather." I remarked. Leaning on the side of the car, I observed passing cars on the road. "So let's imagine it like this. We've just seen this case in the news. It talks about the flickering lights, the scratching below, and a girl claiming she sees a ghost on fire in her bedroom closest. Sam, what do we do first?"

He sighed, leaning on the other side of the car. "We'd try to figure out what we were dealin' with." He answered. "We'd dig into the history of the house."

"Exactly, except this time, we already know what happened." Dean pointed out.

"No. Stop. Don't assume anything. You were four. What four year old knows anything about their house?" I asked.

"About that night, you mean?" Dean countered.

"Raven's got a point, Dean." Sam agreed with me.

"I'm not saying she doesn't. I don't remember much. I remember the fire…the heat." Dean paused. "And then I carried you out the front door."

"Oh."

"You did?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah, what, you never knew that?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head. "No."

"That's...really sad." I stated.

"And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do." Dean continued on. He turned to me. "Do you know?"

"Sam told me- back on that first case." I explained.

Dean nodded, a more solemn look on his face now. "Mom was...was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her."

"And he never had a theory about what did it?" Sam pointed out.

"If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times." Dean sighed, shaking his head at his father.

' _Welcome to the Hating-John-Winchester Club!'_

"Then there's where we start." I stated. "Back at that night. Figure out what happened then, we'll get a better idea of what's happening now."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, seeing the reason it what I was saying. "We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time."

I nodded in agreement. "So who would-"

"Does this feel like just another job to you?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't answer. "I'll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom." Dean walked away.

Sam turned to me. "Raven. Is it to you?"

I hesitated. "Sam. The truth? Yes. I'm doing my best not to be emotionally invested, because then I could miss something. One of us needs to-"

"Are you saying I'm, what, not gonna focus on this because it's about family?" Sam snapped.

"Neither of you will." I countered. Walking around the car, I stood in front of Sam. With complete confidence I stared into his eyes. "And I've seen you both- when it comes down to it, you focus on the hunt. But now? I don't know if you'll do it fast enough, and it'll be healthier if you let them out." I interrupted him before he could say anything. "I'm not trying to be a bitch. I'm trying to help."

"Then maybe you should consider that this is _our_ _family!_ " Sam snapped. "The family that's in that house, it's real people!"

"And what, I wouldn't understand?"

"No!" Sam raged. "You wouldn't!"

I stood silently for a moment.

Sam's rage froze. "Wait-"

"I wouldn't understand losing everything? Having everything you love torn in half?" I went on. "Losing the thing that made life worth it?"

"Raven I-"

"See Sam? You both get emotional." I stated before climbing in the back of a car. "Don't worry. I won't take it to heart. I've been informed I don't have one of those."

"Ra-"

I slapped the door shut.

 _No I wouldn't understand losing everything in a single night._

 _I wouldn't understand having my family treating me like a monster because of my abilities._

 _I wouldn't understand having one shining light, then having it taken from you because nobody trusts you with her anymore._

 _I wouldn't understand losing your sibling- your world- your other half of life._

 _The pain of waking up in a world without them, not remembering just yet that she's_ gone _._

 _And even when you kill the thing that killed her...it doesn't make it better. It just takes everything else away._

 _I wouldn't understand what that's like at all._

 _Because apparently Darcy made me whole._

 _But Lilac she- she made me better than whole._

 _And most days I'm not allowed to see her._

 _Because everyone thinks I'll kill her next._

 _I don't have a heart- they're right._

 _Because they're keeping mine in a cage._

==DG==

Not long after, we'd made it to John's old place of work. Lucky for us that same man who worked with John still worked there. Which I guess in this small of a town isn't so surprising. Just a nice bonus, then.

I stood on Dean's side, far away from Sam. Dean showed no sign of having reached out to John. No shaking voice, no hesitancy towards this case. Just marching on like a soldier.

Sam was somewhere between impatience to finish the case, and remorse towards me. He was trying to channel it towards rage but everyone knows that Sam's more open about his bleeding heart.

Which is why I was doing what I do best. Showing no emotion, no matter what I'm feeling inside. ' _Sometimes it's easier to admit that you feel nothing.'_

"So you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?" Dean asked the owner.

"Yeah, we used to, a long time ago. Matter of fact, it must be, uh…twenty years since John disappeared." The owner explained. "So why the cops interested all of a sudden?"

"Oh, we're re-opening some of our unsolved cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of 'em." Dean excused, even though I feel like we could've gotten away with a twisted form of the truth.

"Oh, well, what do you wanna know about John?" The owner asked.

"Well, whatever you remember, you know, whatever sticks out in your mind." Dean explained.

"Well…he was a stubborn bastard, I remember that." The owner laughed fondly. "And, uh, whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know? It's that whole Marine thing." The boys nodded. They probably knew all about the marine thing- I say as President of the Hating-John-Winchester Club. "But, oh, he sure loved Mary. And he doted on those kids."

"But that was before the fire?" Sam asked.

"That's right." The owner nodded.

"He ever talk about that night?" Sam asked.

"No, not at first. I think he was in shock." The owner looked more hesitant now.

"Right. But eventually? What did he say about it?" Sam pressed.

"Oh, he wasn't thinkin' straight. He said somethin' caused that fire and killed- well you know." The owner brushed off.

"It's alright. We won't judge, whatever he said did it." I explained. "He was- grieving."

 _Blegh...coming to John's defense._

 _I hate him._

 _I hate him._

 _I hate him._

 _I hate him._

 _There, now I feel clean._

"Nothin' did it. It was an accident- an electrical short in the ceiling or walls or somethin'." The owner explained. "I begged him to get some help, but-" He stopped himself.

"But what?" Dean asked.

"Oh, he just got worse and worse." The owner answered.

"How?" Dean asked.

"Oh, he started readin' these strange ol' books. He started goin' to see this palm reader in town." The owner explained.

"What was their name?" I asked him.

The owner scoffed, as if the idea of him knowing her name was stupid. Shame on him, for shaming Missouri like that. "No idea."

==DG==

Sam was searching the phone book for psychics. Dean was leaning against Baby. I was at Sam's side, looking also.

"All right, so there are a few psychics and palm readers in town. There's someone named El Divino. There's, uh-" Sam chuckled. "-there's the Mysterious Mister Fortinsky."

"Stop." I spoke. My finger pointed to Missouri's name.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Dean. Missouri Mosely?" I prompted him. "I got a feeling about this one."

Dean was about to no doubt make a comment about how weird the psychic stuff was, but he caught the name I said. "Wait, wait. Missouri Moseley?" Dean asked.

Sam looked to us both in confusion. "What?"

"That's a psychic?" Dean asked.

"It's her yeah?" I asked Dean, who went to the backseat of the Impala. "It's gotta be."

"What makes you think that?" Sam asked me.

"I think I don't just get psychic dreams." I excused, not looking Sam in the eye. "Think I get psychic insight too. That's cool, right? I mean when it's not depressing. Dean?"

Dean came back up with the journal. He walked it over to us. "In Dad's journal…here, look at this." He showed us the journal. "First page, first sentence, read that."

" _I went to Missouri and I learned the truth._ " Sam read off.

Sam turned his head to Dean. His brother shrugged. "I always thought he meant the state."

"I love it." I agreed. Taking the phone book away, I closed it. Sam closed the journal. He went to the car.

Dean hesitated before following. "You get the psychic crap too?"

"I dreamt about a lot of the people that died on our cases." I revealed. "And sometimes insight. This is actually kinda terrifying for me so could we just drop it?"

Then I went off to the car, ignoring him and Sam.

==DG==

So...we were in her house.

Like, actually in Missouri Moseley's house. How awesome it this? I love it. I love this place so much. You could feel it in the air, if you opened yourself to it. The strong psychic energy she had around herself, spread out into every spot in the house as though it was an over soaked sponge. It made the house more welcoming, felt like you were a bee being invited into a hive after your last one died.

Missouri's house rocked.

The boys were sitting on the sette. I was sitting on a chair across from it. My arm was clutching tight to the Bag, the fingers clenching along the strap. On the floor, my feet were shifting between rubbing the carpet and silently tapping over it. I was 196, you think I would stop being nervous about meeting psychics. Apparently some fears stick around.

The Winchesters looked as bored any normal person. This was understandable. They hadn't met Missouri yet. Then again, they were still hesitant around her even after meeting her. Had she died yet? I couldn't remember. This should be a thing I checked whenever I go back Home.

Probably a good idea to close off my mind again, just to be sure Missouri didn't see too much. Or anything. Actually her seeing anything in my head was freaking me out.

Was I freaking out? I should stop.

People get weird when I start freaking out.

Maybe I'm freaking out because I know John Winchester is somewhere in this house and I can't show him my eternal undying hatred of him.

Yeah. That was it.

No other reason to be freaked out in a psychic's house.

Footsteps came from a nearby hall. Missouri came by, walking with the man before us. She was smiling kindly at him. "All right, there. Don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you."

The man gave her his thanks as he left. Missouri closed the door with a sigh.

"Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin' the gardener." Missouri shook her head, sadly.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked.

"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news." Missouri told him. The boys stared at her, as if startled by the idea now that she wouldn't give them the 'truth', instead give them 'good news' about the case. "Well? Sam and Dean, come on already, I ain't got all day." She gave me a look. "Don't think I'm ignoring you, little missy. You come here too."

I followed with any further prompting.

She led me to the next room. My hand traced on the beads of the bead curtain, as I passed it.

"Well, lemme look at ya." Missouri reached out to me. I let her take my hand. "Poor girl...went through so much, a lot of hurt on the spirit." She looked me in the eye. All I saw was compassion and sympathy. "I'm so sorry. To both of you."

It was so startling- because I knew I had my head on lock down. When it was like this, not even the Doctor himself had been able to get past it. The most he could tell was that I wasn't brain dead. How- how had Missouri gotten all that she did?

"No offense, ma'am, but I don't like people in my head." I stated, feeling shock wash over me. "Please leave it."

Missouri shook her head. "Ain't no secrets in the mind to me, little missy."

"I'm not little." I argued, voice shaking.

"Yes you are." Missouri rubbed her hand in assurance on my arm. "Oh, just a little thing. People forget that you're still just a kid inside, don't they? 196 is old, but you're barely sixteen where it counts."

I stiffened under Missouri's touch. The boys came in at that, looking around the room.

"I know, sugar, I know." She let go of my arm. "Don't like touching when you're anxious. I'm sorry." She turned to the boys. "Mind taking a seat, so I can talk to them?"

Numbly, I nodded. I let myself plob down on the seat. My mind started racing from all that Missouri had said. Barely a few sentences but... _wow._

"Well, lemme look at ya." She told the boys. "Oh, you boys grew up handsome. And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too." She told Dean. Sam grinned. The corner of my lips turned up too, quickly falling. "Sam." Missouri took his hand. "Oh, honey…I'm sorry about your girlfriend. And your father- he's missin'?"

Both Winchesters were as shocked as me. In fairness, my shock was for something different so it wasn't the same kind of shocked but...shock.

"How'd you know all that?" Sam asked

"Well, you were just thinkin' it just now." Missouri excused.

"Well, where is he? Is he okay?" Dean pressed.

"I don't know." Missouri answered plainly.

"Don't know? Well, you're supposed to be a psychic, right?" Dean prompted.

I snickered- as everyone did when they knew someone was about to get a beat down.

"Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician?" Missouri asked him. Dean stared at her in more shock now, because Missouri was awesome and a tiny bit terrifying. "I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please."

The boys did so. Sam smirking the same as me.

"Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm 'a whack you with a spoon!" Missouri snapped at Dean.

"I didn't do anything." Dean defended himself.

"But you were thinkin' about it." Missouri warned him.

Dean was surprised.

Sam was grinning still. Then we made eye contact, both our smiles dropped.

"Okay. So, our dad- when did you first meet him?" Sam got back to the case.

"He came for a reading. A few days after the fire." Missouri explained. "I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say…I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire? Do you know about what killed our mom?" Dean asked.

"A little." Missouri answered. "Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."

"And could you?" Sam pressed.

"I-" Missouri cut off, shaking her head.

"What was it?" Sam prompted.

Her voice was soft. Yet to me it was a loud bell. "I don't know. Oh, but it was evil."

I could barely hold back a shiver, thinking about Azazel. His plan for children..wondering just how many demon blood tainted adults were wandering the streets just barely able to control their new powers.

"So…you think somethin' is back in that house?" Missouri asked us.

"Definitely." Sam nodded.

"I don't understand." Missouri hummed.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keepin' an eye on the place, and it's been quiet." Missouri explained. "No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it actin' up now?"

"I don't know." Sam admitted. "But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house all happening at once- it just feels like something's starting."

 _Because it was starting._

 _The psychic kids are growing up._

 _Dean will sell his soul for Sam's life._

 _Then the Apocalypse will begin-_

 _And I-_

 _And I-_

 _And I-_

 _And I-_

 _Oh Chuck why can't I stop it why-why- WHY!?_

"That's a comforting thought." Dean scoffed.

It promoted me to action. If I couldn't stop the Apocalypse or every other awful thing around here, I could at least help to save Mary Winchester from that Crowley damned house.

"We need to go." I stood up, rushing to the door.

"Little missy!" Missouri called out.

But I was already out the door.

==DG==

Jenny through open her house door. I stood there, the Winchesters flanking me. Missouri was just behind me, waiting to be introduced.

"Sam, Dean. What are you doing here?" Jenny asked, panting. She clutched onto Ritchie tightly.

"Hello Jenny. Sorry to barge in just now. But we brought our friend, Missouri." I stepped aside for the psychic. I made sure to avoid the Winchesters.

"If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the old house." Dean explained. 'You know, for old time's sake."

"You know, this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy." Jenny excused.

"Listen, Jenny, it's important-" Dean began to bark harshly. Missouri whacked him on the back of the head. I got his arm. _Go team!_ "Ow!"

"Give the poor girl a break, can't you see she's upset?" Missouri scolded him. She turned to Jenny. "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed, but hear me out."

Dean stared at Missouri, once again shocked at her.

"About what?" Jenny asked, brushing down on Ritchie's hair.

"About this house." Missouri explained.

"What are you talking about?" Jenny asked, cautiously trying to step away from us.

"I think you know what I'm talking about." Missouri pointed out. Jenny stopped. "You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?"

Jenny gawked at her. "Who are you?"

"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing." Missouri assured her. "But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little."

==DG==

Jenny did.

We walked into Sari's bedroom, what had been Sam's bedroom way back when. I shivered, holding back from reaching in my Bag for a jacket.

Missouri walked around the bedroom, hand outstretched. "If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the center of it."

"Why?" Sam asked.

The psychic glanced at me, giving me a long stare. I averted my eyes to the floor. "This used to be your nursery, Sam." Missouri explained in a slow voice. "This is where it all happened."

Dean got out the EMF. I walked towards the door, practically hiding behind the Winchesters.

"That an EMF?" Missouri asked.

"Yeah." Dean replied.

"Amateur." Missouri snarked. "Little missy, come here."

Startled I took a step forward. The Winchesters took steps aside to let me through. Then I walked the rest of the way to Missouri.

"Now tell me the truth now." Missouri asked, in a very low voice. She leaned in close to me, whispering so low not even the Winchesters could hear. "Do you know what's happening here?"

"Yes ma'am." I answered, in a lower voice.

"Do you know how to stop it?"

I hesitated. "Ma'am-"

"Because there is something _bad_ is this house." Missouri interrupted me. "And I can see the kind of person you are. You're scared for them, and those boys back there. So tell me. Do you know how to stop it?"

"Yes ma'am." I answered. "But- it's not on us. I mean there's- it'll involve using us as bait."

Missouri paused. She held out her hand, over Sari's desk.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, little missy, you got nothing to be sorry about." Missouri assured me. She turned over her shoulder, raising her voice so the boys could hear her. "I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your mom."

"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asked. Missouri nodded. "How do you know?"

"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here." Missouri explained. "It's somethin' different."

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"Not _it_." Missouri walked into the closet. I flinched away, headed back to the door to hide. "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place."

"What are they doing here?" Dean asked. He glanced at me, but a glare sent him back towards Missouri.

"They're here because of what happened to your family." Missouri explained. She came back to the boys and me, watching us as she explained this tragedy. "You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes, wounds get infected."

"I don't understand." Sam replied.

"This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist." Missouri explained. "A nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead."

"You said there was more than one spirit." Sam pointed out.

Missouri glanced at me. I worried my lip. "There is. I just can't quite make out the second one." She went back towards the closet.

"Well, one thing's for damn sure- nobody's dyin' in this house ever again." Dean stated. "So whatever is here, how do we stop it?"

==DG==

Missouri brought us to her house. As she gathered the herbs, she was talking with me. Only stressing me out more, but what are you gonna do?

"Do you know what the second spirit is?" Missouri prompted.

"Yes."

"Well don't just say yes. Who is it?" Missouri asked, gathering up more of the herbs.

I winced. "Mary Winchester."

Missouri paused in her herb gathering. She turned to me, brown eyes wide. "Mary? Just Mary?"

I nodded, worrying my lip with my teeth. My thumb moved up to trace on my necklace. "Yeah."

Missouri glanced at my thumb and lip, before going back to looking at my eyes. "You know, they're not mad at you." My eyebrows furrowed. "Sam and Dean, they're not."

"Sam told me I don't have feelings." I argued. "And Dean thinks I'm a freak because I have psychic powers too."

"Those two are back in their first ever home, finding out something it attacking people all over again. You were right when you said they were too close to this to be thinking straight. And you have more power than that, that you're hiding from them both." Missouri reminded me. As if I needed reminding. It only made me feel worse- fu- "Don't you cuss at me, Morgan Spencer, I'm not afraid to whoop you with a spoon."

I froze.

My breathing began to rush, trying hard to take in air but this wasn't working clearly. Why couldn't I just take in air from my skin? That would be easier than my useless lungs. In my eyes, I was starting to lose sight from water. Fucking useless water- what's the point of it in your eyes what does it even do? Now if that wasn't bad enough, my legs decided to become bastards and stop working.

Missouri lowered me to the floor, sitting with me as I curled in on myself. She rubbed circles on my back, trying to calm me down only that wasn't working. See, this is why I wanted a different kind of air intake.

"There now, little miss, there now." She soothed. "I gotcha. I'm sorry. Shoulda known you wouldn't like people saying it. That's on me- not on you."

 _I didn't mean-_

 _I didn't mean to-_

"I know you didn't. It's alright now."

 _I want to help them- Jenny and her family. I don't know how._

 _Mary Winchester has to stop it._

 _She stops this- I swear- but only because Sam is being hurt and I don't know how to do what she did-_

"Don't you worry about that." Missouri assured me. "You just listen to me, now, listen to my voice. Take in a deep breath now."

I did- letting it out almost with sobs.

 _I have to save-_

"Take another breath. Right now." Missouri instructed. "In for seven seconds, out for eight."

I did so.

Missouri whispered assurances the whole time.

 _I have to-_

 _I have to-_

 _I_ need _to-_

Then I started to cry.

Missouri started rocking me on the floor. She held her arms around me tight as she did so, still rubbing circles on my back as we did so.

"Missouri what's taking so-" Sam walked in.

I curled tighter.

"Stay out." Missouri ordered a shocked Sam. "Tell your brother the same. Go on. Get out!"

I heard his panicked footsteps running away. Missouri hadn't stopped rubbing on my back.

==DG==

Minutes later, Missouri came out of the kitchen with the herbs she needed.

Sam and Dean watched her come out, with jars of herbs. Slinking behind her, looking like a corporeal ghost, was Raven.

"You just go lie down, little missy, Dean will help me with this." Missouri instructed. Raven opened her mouth. "I won't hear nothing about it. You go get yourself on the couch, there's a blanket on the back. Get some rest."

Raven closed her mouth. She walked off to another room. She never even looked at Sam or Dean once.

Sam watched her walk away. He wanted to say something- anything- to their friend. He hadn't even apologized for how rude he'd been at the gas station. She had been right, of course she'd been right. Raven had only been trying to help, and he'd shouted at her. He couldn't get the image of her crying out of his head. To Sam it looked like a doll that had it's string cut and didn't know what to do with it's new freedom.

Dean- he wasn't into chick flick moments. Didn't like them. They were awkward. But he got that sometimes people needed to let go. He hadn't liked any of these new psychic powers popping up in his brother, much less in his best friend. Sam telling him that Raven was crying? That made Dean want to punch something.

But one look from Missouri had told Dean to not even start with that. This was a battle that Dean couldn't fight.

There was another fight that needed Dean's focus.

"So, what is all this stuff, anyway?" Dean asked.

Missouri got on explaining.

Sam walked off, towards the room where Raven had gone away.

"Don't you do that, Sam." Sam turned to Missouri. "Let the poor girl get some shut eye. There's plenty of time to do all that while we get these ready."

Sam hated it- but he went back to standing by the table.

Didn't stop him from glancing at the door though, wanting to go help Raven.

==DG==

In the next room, Raven was lying down on the couch. She stared with unseeing eyes at the coffee table. All she could think about was Mary Winchester, and how this episode reflected on so many episodes after.

==DG==

Ages later everyone made it back to the old Winchester house.

I had gotten my rest, both on the couch and on the drive over. Missouri must have said something to the brothers because neither of them would look at me.

Granted, while it didn't make me feel worse I wasn't feeling much better by it either. Missouri kept herself somewhat distant, but she had her hand outstretched to me. I accepted it, squeezing it once before pulling away.

Once she got Jenny and the kids to leave the house she brought me downstairs.

"The boys'll be upstairs putting these away." Missouri explained. "You just stay with me, okay?"

I nodded. Slinking back against the wall, I let myself slump to the floor.

 _Should I-_ I glanced upwards, thinking about what Chuck must be writing right now. _Should I ask Mary Winchester to help now?_

"No, don't you worry nothing." Missouri explained. "It'll all be fine. You know that."

"Do I?" I asked.

Missouri gave me a smile. "You do."

That made me turn away from Missouri.

There was a disturbed quiet in the house, as Missouri moved about the basement. It was a proper horror movie disturbing. Especially without the scary music playing in the background.

She brought up the bag of herbs, moving it to the wall. No sooner had she moved towards the right corner did the table go flying.

I leapt out in it's path, pushing Missouri out of the way. The table struck me in the stomach, pushing me into the corner.

Missouri gasped.

I yelled out in pain. My hands tried to push at the table, nothing really happening. This thing was strong in it's anger. I tried kicking it with my feet, which only made my feet ache.

"The bag!" I grunted in pain.

Missouri tossed it to me. I threw it over my shoulder into the corner.

A moment after, The table stopped pressing down on my hips. I fell onto my knees, groaning in pain. My arm wrapped around my stomach.

"Morgan!" Missouri ran to my side. She took my other arm, helping me to my feet. "There you go, steady now."

"I'm fine-"

"Yes you are, sugar." Missouri helped walk me towards the stairs. "Yes you are. Keep moving."

==DG==

Sometime later the four of us were sitting in the destroyed kitchen.

"You sure this is over?" Sam asked.

"I'm sure." Missouri turned to Sam, and myself besides him. "Why? Why do you ask?"

"Never mind." Sam sighed. I turned, headed towards the closet. Now I was barely limping. "It's nothin', I guess."

"Little miss?" Missouri asked.

I shook my head.

Jenny came back with her kids. "Hello?" She called out. "We're home." She gawked at the state of her kitchen. "What happened?"

"Hi, sorry. Um, we'll pay for all of this." Sam apologized.

"Our bad." I winced, walking towards the pantry for a broom.

"Don't you worry. Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Missouri instructed. Dean gawked. I turned to stare at her. The psychic gave me a look to let Dean handle it. "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop." Dean huffed, moving to walk. "And don't cuss at me!"

I took a deep breath, beginning to get chills.

"Sam, help little miss. She got hit hard." Missouri instructed.

Sam nodded. He turned to me, reaching out then hesitating. I stretched my hand out to him. Sam gave me a thankful smile as we walked to the closest non-destroyed chair.

==DG==

Later, the three of us were sitting in the Impala. The family had settled down to sleep.

Except Sam, or me. Nah we knew shit was wrong in that house.

"All right, so, tell me again, what are we still doin' here?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. I just…I still have a bad feeling." Sam excused.

"I thought Raven was the one getting ' _feelings'_." Dean argued.

"Yeah and they say this isn't over." I argued back at him.

Dean huffed. "Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, it should be over."

"Yeah, well, probably. But we just wanna make sure, that's all."

"Please?" I asked.

Dean sighed. "Alright, whatever...even though it's stupid and I could be sleeping in a bed right now."

"Thanks." I moved towards the door. "Also Jenny is screaming."

The brothers shot into action.

"You grab the kids, I'll get Jenny." Dean instructed as we ran.

The three of us ran inside. Sam rushed to the first bedroom for Ritchie. I went to Sari's room.

As I arrived, Mary Winchester walked out from the closet.

I hesitated for only a second. "Sari, come here!"

The little girl was crying.

"Sari, she won't hurt you. Come on!" I ran over to her bed, sweeping her into my arms. She held on tight. "Don't look. Don't look!"

As I ran to the stairs, I ran alongside Sam. Ritchie was held tight in his arms. We made it downstairs, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

It was that real life horror movie feeling again...except I heard the music and it was getting closer.

Sam and I exchanged a quick look. Clearly we agreed on whatever it was we were feeling.

I put down Sari, as Sam lowered Ritchie to her side.

"All right, Sari, take your brother outside as fast as you can, and don't look back."

"Go!" I instructed, just as the thing grabbed our ankles.

The poltergeist dragged us away from the screaming Sari.

==DG==

The poltergeist brought us to the kitchen. Once we were inside it tossed us around.

Sam was flung onto the cabinets.

I was thrown up onto the ceiling.

Just before I hit the ground I was pushed against a wall. Sam was on the wall adjacent.

Before I could say anything the force holding me up pushed against my throat. A rasping noise came out of my mouth. Again, I need a different set of lungs. This way was inefficient and _shit._

Mary Winchester walked in, still on fire.

She turned towards us. As we gasped for air, she made slow steps our way. The poltergeist lessened it's hold on my neck the closer Mary came.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean called out. "Raven!"

Dean ran in. He spotted Mary Winchester. He raised his gun.

"No, don't! Don't!" Sam pleaded.

"Stop!" I gasped.

"What, why?!" Dean yelled.

"Because I know who it is. I can see her now." Sam revealed, sounded awed.

"She's...yeah." I nodded, still flailing under the poltergeist's hold.

The fire vanished. It revealed to Dean Mary Winchester, in exactly the same state as before she died.

"Mom?" Dean exhaled.

Mary's ghost smiled. "Dean."

Mary walked to Sam them. Dean's eyes followed Mary, in disbelief. I could understand that...to them, she'd been dead as long as they knew.

"Sam." Mary spoke kindly.

Sam smiles weakly, crying. She turned her blue eyes to me. There was some recognition, a spark of something profound. Her smile faded.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sam pleaded.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, looking at me with ghostly tears in her eyes.

"I...don't get it." I admitted.

She didn't answer.

She walked out of the kitchen. She glared up at the ceiling.

"You get out of my house." Mary told the poltergeist. "And let go of my babies."

Mary was consumed by flames. As soon as they reached the ceiling, gathered force over us dropped us.

I caught myself before I could hurt myself. Dean went to his brother's side, helping him up. So I pushed myself to my own feet.

"Now it's over." Sam stated.

 _Thank you, Mary Winchester._

==DG==

The next morning, after the dust had settled, Jenny gave Dean those old photos she had found.

Sam and I were perched on the stairs. Sam had been quiet since Mary had gone. Again, I could understand why.

Missouri sat herself down beside Sam. We had brought her back one last time, for assurance that this was truly over. "Well, there are no spirits in there anymore, this time for sure."

"Not even my mom?" Sam asked.

"No." Missouri replied, her usual kindness and sympathy in her voice.

My hand went over to Sam's arm. He accepted the touch, putting his own hand over mine.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Your mom's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out." Missouri explained. "Your mom destroyed herself goin' after the thing."

"Why would she do something like that?" Sam asked.

"Well, to protect her boys, of course." Missouri replied. Her smile too wide, wider than in the episode.

Sam's eyes watered again. He turned his head to the side, staring towards the tree.

"No. She said her babies." I spoke up, looking at Missouri. She looked back at me, eyes shimmering. "Why did she say babies?"

She reached out her hand. She stopped at the last second. "Sam, M- Raven...I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sam asked.

"You sensed it was here, didn't you? Even when I couldn't." Missouri replied instead, because I knew why she was apologizing.

"What's happening to us?" Sam asked.

"I know I should have all the answers, but I don't know." Missouri answered. She didn't even glance knowingly my way. I could tell that she knew that I knew, not much else beyond that. The sentiment was nice all the same.

"Sam, Raven, you ready?" Dean called out.

I nodded, getting up off the stairs. Sam followed me to the car.

"Don't you kids be strangers." Missouri called out to us.

"We won't." Dean called back.

Missouri waved us goodbye. I did too. "See you around."

The car drove off from this house...letting go of one of their many ghosts.

==DG==

Dean pulled off at the side of the road.

Sam and Raven turned to him. Raven actually had to pull out her headphones.

"Dean?" Sam prompted.

Dean parked the car.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked. She adjusted herself so she could lean over the side.

Dean reached into his pocket, pulling out one of the photos he'd gotten from Jenny. "Take a look."

He showed them the picture.

It was Dean, at four years old, sitting in a chair. In his arms, _two_ babies were positioned.

==DG==

Missouri walked back into her house. She paused in the hallway.

"That boy, that girl." Missouri remarked, shaking her head in wonder. "They have such powerful abilities." She turned to the next room, where her guest was hiding. "Why they couldn't sense their own father, I have no idea."

John Winchester sat on the couch, looking nearly as bad as Raven did all those hours ago.

"Mary's spirit...do you really think she saved the kids?" John asked.

Missouri paused. "I do." She answered.

John Winchester looked off, toying with the wedding ring on his hand.

Missouri huffed. "John Winchester I could just slap you. Why don't you go talk to your children? Why couldn't you just tell them yourself who Raven was- who she really is? Your daughter has gone her entire life not knowing she could have had a family that loved her."

"God, I want to." John sighed. "You have no idea how much I want to see them- to see her." John ran his hand over his face, to brush off any tears that were pushing him to let go. "Thought she was dead, you know? Everybody thought the fire took them both. Both my girls...gone...I want to see them...but I can't. Not yet."

Missouri shook her head at him, in disappointment.

"You didn't tell her?" John asked, looking down at his feet.

"No." Missouri answered. "But they're gonna figure it out themselves."

John sucked in his lips, blinking rapidly as tears began to fall.

 **==DG==**

 **AN: So...that was supposed to be revealed in my season 2 fanfic...except well...Home. It gives me Feels(™).**

 **Thanks to Wastelandyoda for favoriting and following**


	12. The Untold Story of Millie Winchester

The back of the photo read ' _Big Brother Dean- holding the twins._

I took the photo in my hand, staring at the second baby in the photo. As I held it a storm of emotions ran through me. Horror and revulsion and betrayal and so much else…

It was mean.

Or, this body.

That baby was me.

What other exclamation was there?

There wasn't one in the show.

Usually, if there was a change like this, it involves me. This change line Sam having a twin line had to be one too.

Holy shit. I don't know how I feel about this what other explanation was there?

I don't know how I feel about this change.

Dean handed Sam another photo. It was of Mary with the two babies.

' _Sam William & Millicent Rachel Winchester. May '83'_

I gawked at it.

"We- have a sister?" Sam stuttered, stunned.

"I guess we do." Dean replied. "She's in every photo of you, so she's- she's your-"

"Twin." Sam finished. He stared at the photo in new shock. "I have a twin sister." He looked over at Dean. "You never said anything?"

"I didn't remember." Dean excused. "Dad never said anything. It was always about Mom."

Both brothers paused, staring at the pictures of their sister.

"What happened to her?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Dean answered. "But...there isn't anything of her after that night."

"You think Mom's not the only one who died?" Sam asked.

Dean hesitated. "Did you feel her ghost there?"

"No." San answered, looking relieved. He turned. "Ra-" He stopped. "Raven?"

In my hands was the photo of Mary holding twin babies.

"Raven?" Dean asked. He turned around too. "What is it?"

"Millie."

The name chimed in my skull- with memories unwanted.

"Millie Rachel."

More chimes, ringing louder and louder. They were chimes becoming bells becoming alarms.

"Raven." Sam prompted.

"I need air." So I left the car.

==DG==

 _Then_

Millie Winchester went missing November 2, 1983.

Well not ' _missing'_ exactly.

See people had to notice you were gone to declare you missing. Even most deadbeats get declared missing if they miss a few days of work.

You also don't get declared missing if people assume they know where you've gone.

Everyone- except for two little boys too young to really remember her- thought Millie Winchester was in a grave right next to her mother.

But, as one Raven Quinzel (aka Morgan Spencer) learned, that wasn't at all true.

The memories hit her like a flash, as if they'd always been there. How silly she was for not noticing them.

==DG==

Her first ever clear memory is of her adoptive mother showing off her fangs.

But at the last second, her mother lashed out on a nearby human.

The human screamed.

Little Millie- was unfortunately used to it.

==DG==

Her next clear memory was of when she was a child.

"Millie, Millie, Millie." The vampire tsked at Millie.

She held Millie's chin hard in her hand. She squeezed until Millie squeaked in pain.

"Such a disappointment." The vampire complained. "I see why your mom gave you up."

She pushed Millie onto the ground.

"Can't even get dinner to provide for your nest." The vampire scolded. "After we took you in-"

She kicked Millie's leg. The child whined.

"-fed you-"

Other vampires in the room began to cackle. They heard Millie's whimpers of pain.

"-kept you human-"

She kicked Millie's back. Not enough to maim, just to push the child into her front.

"You're garbage." The vampire snarled. "Come on everyone. We need to hunt for ourselves now."

The nest of vamps ran from their house, leaving the hurt child behind.

Millie remembered she was only six.

==DG==

Her next memory is of a small child, her size and age.

She was a ginger child. Skin pale enough to make anyone think she's already been drained of blood. Her hair was bright orange, hanging down flat on the side of her head. None of the usual joy from a child shined in her dark blue eyes.

The child's shirt was splashed in blood. According to the others, her mom had died right in front of her.

"I'm Millie." She introduced herself. She held out her hand.

The girl stared at the hand blankly. Millie was concerned for a moment that the child had already been broken by the nest. Then the girl took Millie's hand. "Molly."

They were six.

==DG==

Molly had come into the Nest after her parents had died. Her birthday was on September 17, 1983.

Millie had said that was her birthday too.

But the truth was? She never had a birthday before.

==DG==

"Raven is the cool one!" Millie argued, reading a worn out DC comic.

"Nah- it's Ivy." Molly argued, reading another DC comic.

They had to be quiet. The vamps had decided to sleep in today. There wasn't a lot of options to have fun when you were raised by monsters.

"Ivy's a bad guy." Millie pointed out.

"Shut up- that comic said Raven was the daughter of a demon." Molly pointed out.

"She's not a bad guy though. She uses magic to stop people." Millie countered.

Molly huffed. "Ivy does too."

"To kill people."

"Yeah but like, the bad ones." Molly huffed.

Millie smiled. When Molly saw she smiled too.

"BRATS!" Their nest mother shouted.

Millie and Molly winced.

They had work now.

==DG==

She was twelve the day she'd had enough.

Millie found out an ugly truth- one that disgusted her. Pushed a boundary she hadn't even known she had.

Molly had been abused- for years. Far worse than Millie ever got it.

The vamps would kick and punch at Millie. They would leave her just hurt enough that she could be used on hunts. Never breaking bone, or taking blood unless last resort. She was their best source of food gathering, after all. But Millie had shown up to their bed mat with lots of bruised eyes and nearly broken arms.

But Molly had it worse.

She'd been _taken_ by vamps and the occasional human (mostly for bait) that had a taste of young flesh.

They'd touched her sister.

 _Used_ her sister.

Clearly the Nest needed to die.

==DG==

Millie had found a way to kill vampires awhile ago. Like the legacy that she was, she found it in a day.

But she was too weak to chop off heads. The other option was dead man's blood.

Which...kinda had a key ingredient that Millie couldn't just brush aside.

She had to wait. For a time that they were hunting- using Millie again as bait.

She had to kill him first. Before the vamps could get a bite in. It had looked like a simple fall (the man was _overly_ friendly- Millie had to consider this justified) down stairs. Then, she fed him to the Nest.

Oh that were a little miffed that the guy was out. The Nest liked the screams, usually. But they made do anyways.

For awhile.

One.

By one.

By one.

The Nest- the only family Millie had ever had- dropped.

Until only Mama was left.

==DG==

Mama was _mad_.

Millie could Mama holding tightly to Molly's neck.

So, yeah, mad.

"Dead man's blood." Mama praised, chuckling. "Clever brat."

Millie watched in panic. A drop of blood was streaming down Molly's neck.

Mama showed off her fangs.

"But not clever _enough_."

"NO!"

Yes. Millie was a prodigy.

Unfortunately that legacy was in being a Winchester.

==DG==

The next memory had Molly tearing out the throat of a werewolf, her fangs coated in red.

==DG==

Those next memories were coming in flashes.

Killing werewolves.

Burning ghosts.

Undoing curses. _(Millie had a knack for that)_

Killing any vamps they could find.

They saved the monsters were who just trying to live.

They stopped bad people from hurting good people.

They changed their names- Raven and Ivy Quinzel.

Their own family business.

It was good.

==DG==

Once, they were taking on a nest of vamps.

Hunters came too.

Millie had finished with her target. She grinned, cleaning off her blade from vampire blood. She coated it in deadman's blood that need cleaning too...meh she'd do that later.

"'Ey Ivy!" Millie called out. She tucked her machete back in her belt. "You good?"

No reply.

Millie huffed. "Did I beat you again?"

She walked around the dead nest. She heard sounds of fighting. She followed them even when they stopped.

Millie walked outside, where the commotion was coming.

She saw the hunters they had ended up with. Bastards, the both of them. One kept flirting with Molly _('she's twenty dammit! Leave her be!' But Molly hated it when Millie went all 'big-sister' so she shut up.)_

"Hey."

The hunters turned to her. They were splattered with blood. Overall okay.

They were concerned.

"Where's Ivy-"

Then she saw.

A head of ginger hair.

Just the head.

Molly was _not_ good.

"What. Did you do?" Millie asked, voice going cold.

A hunter sighed, as though breaking bad news to a victim's loved one. "She got bit."

Millie fought not to gawk.

But she pulled her machete back out.

"She got bit when we were twelve." Millie revealed. She turned her cold gaze to the hunter. "And you _killed her_."

He died.

==DG==

Millie became Morgan two years later.

She met Dean a month after that.

==DG==

Which...brought us back to _now._

==DG==

"Raven!" Dean called out.

My hand was running through my hair, brushing it down. The memories had come through in a barrage- unending and unyielding. Memories that I had- admittedly- requested.

Now I regret it.

"RAVEN!" Dean shouted, breaking me out of the thoughts.

He came up to my side, shaking my shoulder. Sam was at my opposite side. "Raven what's wrong?"

"Millie was my name. Before." I revealed.

Sam and Dean froze.

"That- That was my name. I changed it to Raven- when I-" _-arrived on this world. -needed to._ "-when I left that house."

The brothers hadn't moved. Their expressions stated that same kind of shocked.

"They told me I was adopted. That I- that I was given up. But- but they said- they were _liars_ why did I _believe_ -" My fingers threaded into my hair, tugging on the strands. "They _lie_. I should have _known._ "

"You might be-" Sam choked on his words. He swallowed. He glanced at Dean who continued to gawk at me. "-our sister?"

I nodded.

Then I fell to my knees.

Sam knelt next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder. This was so chaotic I didn't know how to stop him. "You said you had a sister."

"She was adopted. She was all I had in that house." I sniffled, wiping at my cheeks even though I was too shocked to even cry.

"Millie?" Sam tried the word out on his tongue.

 _Fuck_ it was awful.

"Sam." Holy _fuck_ that word just left my _mouth_ but it was because Sam was _\- Fucking Storyline I hate dealing with emotions._ "Oh-"

Sam pulled me in for a hug. I hugged him back.

 _Author's Fucking Storyline._

 _I'm gonna kill Chuck._

 **==DG==**

 **AN: Did I give you a new chapter? Yes. Was it what you wanted? Probably.**

 **Thanks to Eric Cartmen Forever for favoriting and following**


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